CrossFire
by M.C.E.Black
Summary: Something's going on between Roy and Riza, but will it take an almost invisible murderer, and the near loss of someone dear for them to actually admit it? Slow start, but will get better, I promise! Told from POV of Roy, Riza and Third Person.
1. The Beginning RH

**DISCLAIMER:** As much as I want to, I do not own Full Metal Alchemist or any of it's characters!

**A/N:** I'm still working on this. It's my first FMA fic, so don't hate me if I totally get them out of character. I just love Roy and Riza soo much. Okay, well, there's a slow start, but will get better. I PROMISE! Just read and I'll update ASAP! Please review too! Oh, and in the chapter title, RH means the chapter is told from Riza's POV, RM means it's told from Roy's and G means General 3rd person POV.

**Chapter 1: The Beginning. RH.**

_Colonel Roy Mustang. That is who I work with. Or rather, I baby-sit. Many people ask me how I manage to keep my cool while working. Keeping track of the Colonel, the Elrics and the rest of the idiot officers I work with, seems like a rather frustrating thing to deal with._

_But I don't see what's so bad about it. I mean, I stand beside the Colonel all day (something most women would kill to do), occasionally deal with Havoc or someone and I get to carry around a gun. (On some special days, I even get to use it, which I seem to look forward to.) Yes, I have this place in the pa-_

The handle to the door jiggled and I looked up, hastily rising out of the chair I was in. I was quite relieved to see Lieutenant Colonel Hughes enter the room.

"Oh, Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said slightly in shock. "I was looking for Roy..."

My eyes wandered to my journal which was still sitting on top of Roy's desk, wide open. There were several hearts doodled across the top page and I prayed that Hughes wouldn't move close enough to see them. I focused back on him.

"He's not here at the moment," I replied as calmly as I could. "I believe he was helping Edward with something."

Hughes raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't accompany him? Odd..."

His eyes swept over the room and then locked onto me almost accusingly. I tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Hmm..." he said slowly. "I guess I'll check back later. If he's dealing with Ed, he'll need a little while to cool down..."

"Yes, sir," I saluted him quickly.

He returned the gesture and left, still glancing around the room as if he half expected Roy to pop out from underneath his desk.

As the door shut behind him, I sank back down into Roy's chair and touched my journal. Before I began writing again, I scanned the top of his desk.

Whenever the Colonel left me behind, which, mind you, wasn't often, I liked to sit behind his desk. I couldn't really explain why, But I liked the feeling of being there. It was quite peaceful. For a while at least...

The door banged open, this time without warning and Roy entered the room, looking furious. I shot out of his seat, bringing my journal with me. I grabbed the book that had been sitting on the corner of his desk and used it to cover my journal.

"That kid, I swear..." he said angrily, moving toward his desk. "He's going to get himself killed, and then I'll have even more to deal with..."

"Trouble with Elric, sir?" I asked politely.

Roy sat down, sighing deeply. "He thinks he's immortal, that's all. Someone needs to teach him a lesson."

"Why don't you do it, sir?" I suggested.

He scoffed. "It would kill him to listen to me," he said matter-of-factly. "Ed does and says only what he wants, no matter who else gets hurt in the process."

I smirked lightly, though he didn't notice for he was staring down at a pile of paperwork. "Sounds like someone else I know..."

The phone rang shrilly and he answered it quickly. I watched as he rubbed his eyes in a tired sort of way. I sat on the arm of the nearest chair and waited. Usually it was quite easy for me to tell who he was talking to, (I had overheard several phone conversations) but this time I couldn't tell. Not that I was really paying attention either. I found myself a bit distracted.

When he hung up, he returned to his paperwork, looking a bit more relieved. I always hated the awkward silences that fell between us, but never dared to speak. I was sure he wouldn't appreciate being bothered while he was working. I only wish I knew _what_ he was working on.

"Don't look so bored, Hawkeye," he said absently.

I looked up quickly, sliding off the chair. He wasn't even looking at me, but there was a hint of a smirk dancing across his lips. I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it quickly as I realized I really didn't have anything to say back.

"Maybe you should go check on Ed," he said. "Make sure he hasn't destroyed anything...or anyone."

"Yes, sir." I said, turning toward the door.

Before I left, I glanced back at him, but he was still staring at the same piece of paper he'd held in his hand for nearly ten minutes. Sometimes I wondered about him and whether he was really doing what he looked like he was doing. I was certain I hadn't seen him look up at me while I was sitting on the edge of the couch, and yet, he knew what I was doing.

Walking down the hall, I headed in the direction of the Elrics' room. I knocked on the door sharply and heard a small rustling inside. The door opened a moment later and I came face to face with Alphonse.

"First Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said, sounding stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"Is Edward here?" I asked, trying to peer into the room.

Edward appeared at Alphonse's side, looking even shorter than usual. He looked at me, confused. I merely smiled at him, which I'm sure only made him even more nervous.

"First Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said slowly. "Why are you-"

"Can I come in?" I asked.

Edward looked behind him and nodded quickly. "Sure."

Alphonse moved and I followed Edward into the room. It was easy to see that they had been working on something, as there was a pile of papers sitting on a small table. I stared at them for a minute and turned back to Edward who was still standing by the door.

"What are you doing here, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"The Colonel told me to me to come and check on you," I told him. "I assume you three had a rough morning."

"Two," Alphonse interrupted. "I had nothing to do with it."

I didn't take my eyes off of Edward. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Not really," he answered quickly.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at me. "Edward, please. The Colonel was concerned about you. What are you planning?"

"Who says I'm planning anything?" he said, finally moving away from his door.

I looked at him doubtfully. "Edward..." I gestured toward the papers on his table. "I know something's going on. Why don't you tell me?"

He sighed. "It's nothing. Honestly. I'm not even sure it's going to work."

He moved over to the papers and filed through them. I watched him carefully. Alphonse moved closer to us and watched as well. Edward read over one quickly, frowning.

"None of this is making any sense," he said. "Ishbala this, Ishbala that...then the whole thing with the doctor. I don't know what to do..."

"Are you talking about Marcoh?" I asked, kneeling down beside him to look at the papers.

There were all about the Philosopher's stone and the research that others had done to find it. Edward continued to stare at it, looking irritated. I nodded lightly and put down the papers I was looking at.

"I wish I could just figure out how he did it," Edward said, annoyed.

I stood up and looked down at him. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

He shrugged, but didn't look up at me. I nodded to Alphonse, who nodded back and I headed for the door. There was nothing left for me to do there. I stopped at the door and glanced at Edward.

"I assume I need not remind you to be careful..." I said quietly.

He nodded and I left. I was starting back toward the Colonel's office, when I spotted Lieutenant Ross passing by. At first I thought nothing of it and continued walking, but then I turned to catch her attention.

"Lieutenant Ross!"

She turned to face me. "Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"I want you to keep your eye on the boys," I said professionally.

She smirked a little. "Which ones?"

I frowned, trying to look serious. She did as well, realizing I wasn't in the mood to joke around. "If anything goes wrong, or seems out of sorts, alert me or Colonel Mustang immediately."

She nodded shortly, "Yes, ma'am." She saluted and headed toward Edward's room. She would stand in her usual spot outside the door and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. It was her usual job, but occasionally we'd have to remind her of it.

"On second thought, Lieutenant!" I said, turning back toward her. "For safety's sake, just alert me. The Colonel's in another one of his moods."

"Yes, ma'am." she repeated.

Opening the door to the Roy's office, I spotted him immediately. He was staring out the window, and didn't seem to notice I was there. The papers he'd been looking at before were spread out on his desk. Several books were piled in the corner. I closed the door quietly and started toward him.

"How's he doing?" he asked, without turning.

I froze. "How did you-"

He turned to look at me over his shoulder, smirking. "You are the only person I know who can enter a room so quietly."

I smiled as he approached me slowly. "Yes, sir. Edward is fine. A little worn out, but he'll come around. I have Lieutenant Ross keeping watch over him and Alphonse."

"Good work, Hawkeye," he said, nodding.

"Thank you, sir..." I replied quietly. He was now standing right in front of me, staring at me, as if he expected me to say something else. My vocal cords seemed to be malfunctioning, for I couldn't find the right words to say.

As he opened his mouth to speak, the door opened again. Both our heads turned quickly in the direction of the intruder. Hughes was back again. He stopped quickly when he spotted us.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." he said coyly. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Roy said firmly. "But in the future, you might want to try knocking for a change, Hughes..."

Hughes smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir. Anyway, the Führer would like to speak with you."

Roy looked confused. "Concerning?"

"I don't know," Hughes answered. "But he said it was urgent."

Roy glanced back at me, but I avoided his gaze. He moved toward the door. "Hawkeye, you stay here. Answer the phone if someone calls. It may be important. If you need me, send someone to come and find me."

I wondered why he didn't want me to come find him myself, but knew better than to disobey orders, even most especially when Roy was the one giving them.

"Yes, sir."

He disappeared through the door and left Hughes and I to ourselves. I tried to busy myself with a book from Roy's desk, ignoring the sly looks Hughes continued to give me. I didn't want to know what he was thinking.

"Hawkeye," he said slowly.

I ignored him and turned the page, not really reading what was written there.

"Hawkeye," he repeated. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Not particularly, Lieutenant," I said coolly.

He smiled and walked over toward me. "Are you sure? 'Cause you know Roy'll never tell me..."

"It's nothing, sir..." I said resolutely. "Now, if you'd please leave me alone. I have work to do."

Hughes nodded and started back toward the door. He stopped before it and turned back to me. "Well, I've been telling Roy for years that he needed to find someone. I never thought it would be you, Hawkeye, but I have to say-"

I fingered the handle to the gun on my hip. "Tell anyone about this, Hughes, and I will-"

Hughes held up his hands innocently, backing against the door. "Hey, hey, hey, now I never said I was going to tell anyone. My lips are sealed."

I pulled it out and pointed it straight at him, still keeping my gaze on the book, watching him slightly out of the corner of my eye. "What did you see tonight?"

"Absolutely nothing." He answered hastily. "Oh, is that Sheska calling for me? I'd better be going. Good day, Hawkeye."

When the door closed again, I slipped the gun back onto my hip. I would never shoot Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. Even if he started a rumor about Roy and me. There was nothing going on. Never was, and probably never would be.

It was my job to protect him. I had dedicated my life to that. We were simply co-workers. That's all we were.

_That's all we'll ever be..._

Frowning, I turned back to the desk and was tempted to sit back into Roy's chair. Instead, I walked across the room and sat in another chair he had, burying my nose into the book, this time actually reading it. I was interested to find what it contained...

_The Philosopher's Stone, which has been sought by many for hundreds of years, is rumored to have a strange make up. No recorded procedure to creating said stone has ever been found, but there have been many accounts of scientists who have created an item that holds the same properties..._

**A/N:** Okay, so this is it for now, until I update the next chapter. I have the next couple written, so come back to find out what happens! It's gonna get better! PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. A Murder, A Wife and A Clue G

**DISCLAIMER:** Still working on the owning thing, but as of right now, I unfortunately do not own FMA, or any of it's characters.

**A/N:** Okay, here's chapter 2. Again, it's still moving slow...it'll really pick up around Chapter Four. That's where you finally get your first glimpse of our villians. Well, same as before: RHRiza POV, RMRoy POV, G3rd Person.

**Chapter 2: A Murder, A Wife, and A Clue. G. **

The next morning, the officers were gathered in their usual room. Havoc puffed on his cigarette, while Fuery hid behind a book. Breda and Falman looked bored, but kept an eye on Roy as he paced back and forth in front of them.

"Why don't you sit down, chief?" Havoc suggested.

Roy shook his head and continued to pace. Breda and Falman glanced at each other and shook their heads. The door opened suddenly and Riza entered looking as if she had run there.

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir..." she said hastily.

Roy turned to look at her, frowning. "It's all right, Hawkeye. Lucky for you, business has been pretty slow this morning. I'm just waiting for the kid to arrive. Looks like you weren't the only one to have a slow start this morning."

Riza glanced at her watch and back at Roy. "But, sir, it's only seven thirty in the morning. The boys don't usually arrive until eight."

Roy looked down at his own watch. "Hm. I guess you're right."

He moved back over to the window and Riza watched him curiously. She looked at Havoc, inquisitively, but he shrugged and turned his gaze back to the Colonel.

The silence that followed was only broken by the arrival of Hughes. He entered the room, smiling widely and looking more awake than any one else in the room.

"You'll never guess what happened this morning," he said cheerfully. "Elysia-"

Riza shot Hughes a quick glance and nodded toward Roy, which shut him up quickly. He eyed the gun still attached to Riza's hip and moved quickly toward his best friend.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, so that they wouldn't be overheard.

Roy didn't answer him. Instead he continued to look out the window. He seemed to be doing that increasing more over the past couple weeks. Hughes repeated his question a little more urgently. Finally, Roy turned, but he didn't focus on Hughes.

"Hawkeye, I'd like to see you in my office," he said shortly, heading for the door. "Maes, would you please join us?"

Riza avoided Hughes' gaze as they followed him back to his office. When they arrived, Roy ordered for Riza to close the door. Hughes sat down in his usual chair, while Riza stood next to him. They stared at Roy, waiting for him to explain.

"Yesterday, I received news from the Führer , as you both are aware. He told me that there are rumors of another alchemist wandering the streets, murdering innocent people." he said slowly.

"Sounds like Scar," Hughes interrupted.

Roy nodded, "Yes. But they're convinced that it's not him. The victims don't end up like Scar's."

"You mean, all bloody and torn apart with body parts lying everywhere?" Hughes said again, adding in his comments wherever he could.

"Thank you for that lovely description, Lieutenant," Riza said stiffly, not looking at him.

Before he could reply, Roy continued with his story. "No. They're quite the opposite actually. Hard to tell that they're dead, except for the lack of a pulse. Many say that they merely look like homeless people who have fallen asleep on the side of the street."

"And the Führer 's convinced it's done with Alchemy, sir?" Riza spoke up.

"He's sure of it," Roy turned to them. "He seems a little _too_ sure of it. I wonder if he knows more than he's letting on."

Riza knew the door was closed, but still feared to be overheard. "Please sir, if anyone were to hear you-"

"Hawkeye," Roy cut in. "We're fine. What I was saying was, we need to figure out who's behind this. I would immediately blame the Homunculi, but I have reason to believe it isn't them."

"How do you know?" Hughes asked.

"They wouldn't leave the scene that clean," Roy said. "And they usually have reason to murder their victims. None of these people seem to have anything in common."

"Do you have a list of the victims, sir?" Riza asked, eyeing the papers sitting on his desk.

Roy shook his head. "I don't. I will be receiving one in moments, but until then, we need to keep this under wraps. I would have invited Havoc along with us, but I don't want to cause a stir so quickly. Especially when we don't really know what's going on."

"Are you going to tell the boys?" Hughes asked.

Roy paused and stared at his desk, resting his hand on top of it. He had obvious not thought that through. Finally, he looked up at Hughes. "I'm not sure yet. They have enough to worry about at the moment, and since this probably has nothing to do with the Philosopher's Stone, I won't worry them with it."

"They'll want to help..." Hughes continued. "You know how Ed is."

"Ed will need to stay focused. He has his own work to do and I have mine." Roy said firmly.

"What do you want us to do?" Hughes asked, unsure of what Roy was planning.

Roy focused on Hughes. "I want you to do as much research as possible. Have Sheska help you, but don't tell her what it's for. If she asks, just tell her it's top secret. See if you can find any information on other alchemists in the area, not employed by the military. Or if you can, see if you can find records of murders similar to this. We might be working with someone experienced in this field."

Hughes stood and saluted. "Yes, sir."

He seemed too eager to leave the room, making Riza a bit annoyed. She continued to stare at Roy, who was leaning on his desk, now with both hands, and staring down at a piece of paper.

"What would you like me to do, sir?" she asked.

He looked up. "You're coming with me."

As he moved to grab his jacket, Riza followed him. "Where are we going?"

He headed for the door, but didn't explain. He had grabbed a folder off his desk, before leaving and was now hurrying down the hall toward the garage. Riza did her best to keep up with him, but he was moving unnaturally fast. Wherever they were going, he wanted to get there as soon as possible.

When they reached the car, Roy hopped into the passenger seat and rushed Riza into the driver's. As she turned the key, she looked at Roy, confused.

"Where are we going, sir?" she repeated.

"Shh," he said quickly. "I'll tell you in a bit. Just go straight."

Riza kept her cool. Roy didn't always tell her what was going on, but she usually had a good idea of what he was planning. Recently, she had been finding it harder to read him.

"Sir, it's only eight in the morning. I hope we're not visiting someone." Riza said, worriedly.

"They're expecting us." he said shortly. "Take a left."

Riza put her blinker on and followed his directions. Occasionally, she noticed him staring at her in the rearview mirror. She would catch his eye and then look back to the road, quickly. A weird feeling set in her stomach.

A half an hour later, he instructed for her to pull into a long driveway. The house was massive in size and the beat up car in front of the garage seemed completely out of place. Roy opened his door as Riza turned the car off. She didn't get out.

"Are you coming?" he asked, staring at her.

"I wasn't sure-" she started, then changing her mind. "Yes, sir."

She hurried out of the car and followed him as he approached the front door. He knocked several times and they waited for someone to answer.

"I need you to cover me, Hawkeye." Roy said. "You know that."

Riza placed her hand on the butt of her gun and nodded. From the way it had sounded before, she was certain they were visiting someone with answers, not someone who could be potentially dangerous.

An older woman answered the door, wearing an apron. "Can I help you?" she asked frailly.

"We're here to speak with Mrs. Hawthorne," Roy said professionally. "Is she in?"

The old woman looked concerned. "I don't believe Mrs. Hawthorne would like to meet with any guests at this time. She's not at all feeling well..."

"Please, Ma'am..." Roy insisted. "My name is Colonel Roy Mustang and it is very important that I speak with her."

"Who is it, Emmy?" Another woman appeared at her side. She was considerably younger, but the lines on her face, no doubt from lack of sleep, made her look many years older. When she spotted Roy she froze. "Emmy, I think something's burning in the kitchen."

Emmy looked from the woman to Roy and back. Without another word, she disappeared into another room. The woman continued to stare at Roy.

"Are you Mrs. Angela Hawthorne?" he asked.

She nodded slowly. "Yes. I am..."

Roy breathed in deeply. "I am-"

"I know who you are," she said abruptly. "Come in, Colonel."

Slightly stunned, Roy stepped inside. Riza followed slowly, ignoring the strange look she had received from Mrs. Hawthorne. She had released her gun, but kept her arm bent slightly to make sure she'd be able to reach it quickly if need be.

Mrs. Hawthorne led them to another room where they could all sit down. Along the way, she ordered another maid to bring them a pot of tea.

"I thought you said she was expecting us," she muttered under her breath.

"She was..." he replied quietly. "How else do you think she knew my name?"

When they reached the parlour, Mrs. Hawthorne gestured for Roy to sit down on the couch. Mrs. Hawthorne herself sat in the chair opposite him. Riza chose to remain standing.

"I have been expecting you," Mrs. Hawthorne said softly. She was frowning, which made Riza a bit uncomfortable. "Ever since Bradley alerted me last night."

Roy turned slightly to Riza, giving her a smug look. He turned back to Mrs. Hawthorne, losing the smile. "Then you know why we're here?"

She nodded grimly. "My husband was killed by some..._thing_. I saw it with my own eyes. It was...was...indescribable, the feeling that went through me when I-I saw..."

"You are the only witness to one of these murders, Ma'am," Roy told her. "Because you saw the attacker, you're going to be a great help to us."

"Yes..." she said, her voice shaking a little. Moments before, she had seemed to have herself completely together, but asking her to relive her husband's death was already taking it's toll on her.

Roy's voice dropped. "Do you remember how your husband was killed? Was there some kind of weapon the attacker used?"

Mrs. Hawthorne shook her head. "No weapons. Only hands. There was a flash of light. I remember that. It was like some kind of power coming out of their hands."

Roy and Riza exchanged glances. "Ma'am, you've heard of Alchemy haven't you?"

Her eyes widened and she nodded. "Yes, I have. I don't know much about it, but I certainly know what it is."

"Would you consider what happened a work of Alchemy?" he asked.

She paused for a minute, staring at the intricate patterns of the carpet. When she looked up, she wore an odd expression. "Why yes. It would make perfect sense. I-I don't know why I didn't think of that before. It had to be alchemy."

"Alchemy without a transmutation circle, though?" Riza spoke up.

"It's possible," Roy said, not looking back at her. "Look at what Ed can do."

Riza nodded and didn't reply. Alchemists who could perform Alchemy without transmutation circles were especially dangerous, for they could perform it at will.

Roy sighed and continued. "I know it's going to be hard, but if there is anything you can remember about the man who attacked your husband, I would like to know what it is."

Mrs. Hawthorne stared back at him, blinking slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did he have any scars or special marks on him? What was his hair color? Do you remember any of this?" Roy asked.

She continued to stare at him, confused. "Colonel, I think you have your facts confused. The person who killed my husband was a woman."

Roy and Riza looked at each other quickly. They had not come across many female alchemists in their time, which would narrow suspects down. Mrs. Hawthorne glanced up at Riza.

"Why don't you sit down dear?" she offered. "You look dead on your feet."

Back in the car, Roy and Riza sat silent for a while, staring blankly ahead. Finally, Roy spoke up.

"You know who Hawthorne's husband was, don't you?" he asked.

Riza shook her head. "I don't sir."

"He was an alchemist from the West. He lived a secret life. Even his wife didn't know he was into Alchemy. Rumor has it, they even had kids. He hid it from them too." he explained. "He was a good man. I met him on a couple occasions."

"If she didn't know about her husband's work," Riza said. "How did she contact the Führer ?"

"She didn't." Roy answered simply. "He contacted her. When he'd learned of Lieutenant Hawthorne's death and that his wife had witnessed it, he immediately got her on the phone and told her that he would be able to help find who killed her husband, if she helped us in return."

"That's stupid," Riza said, not thinking. "How can he promise something like that, especially before we learn all the facts. What if the murderer has fled and we never find her? What if she stops and leaves no more clues behind? She'll have built her hopes up for nothing. What a stupid thing to tell her."

Roy glanced at her and smiled. "Careful, Lieutenant, someone might hear you..." he said mockingly.

She threw him a serious look and pulled out of the driveway. When they arrived back at headquarters, they were met by Havoc, who had just come out of an adjoining room. He stared at them for a moment.

"Where the hell have you two been?" he asked. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Business, Havoc," Roy answered, pushing his way past him.

Havoc followed next to Riza. "It's not just us who've been looking for you, chief. The Führer wanted you in his office as soon as we found you."

Roy stopped abruptly and turned his head slightly. "Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hawkeye, return to my office," he ordered. "Havoc, alert Hughes and tell him I want to see him in my office as soon as possible. If I'm not there when he gets there, tell him to wait for me."

"Yes, sir!" Havoc turned and headed in the direction of Hughes' office.

Riza sighed and headed for Roy's office, still trailing behind him for most of the way. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to go along with him, but didn't want to try his temper. He had been in a strange mood all morning.

As she reached for the door, she heard someone say her name.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

She turned to see Ed running toward her. She faced him as he came to a stop, trying to catch his breath.

"Yes, Edward?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Where's the Colonel?" he asked, breathlessly.

"He's meeting with someone right now," she told him. "He'll be back soon, but he's dealing with something important, so I'm sure he won't want be to be bothered."

"Well, he's going to have to deal with it about this..." Ed continued. "It's about the murders!"

Riza stared at him. "How did you-"

"I think I have some information that he'll find very interesting..." he said matter-of-factly, grinning mischievously.

**A/N:** The chapters will get longer and more in depth and action-y very soon! So, keep reading! Oh and don't forget to review! (Oh and yes, I made up Lieutenant Hawthorne...he was nowhere in the manga or show...lol.)


	3. A Stone To Die For RM

**DISCLAIMER:** As usual, I do not own the FMA characters or anything else relating to it. I did plan on stealing Roy for myself, but feared that Riza would not appreciate it much.

**A/N:** Okay, here's chapter 3. Again, I'm sorry for the slow-ness of the story. Trust me, next chapter will be a lot more interesting. Still trying to set a foundation for the story. From now on, updates will be spread out a little so I can focus more on the storyline to come. Chapter 4 will be up ASAP.

**Chapter 3: "A Stone To Die For". RM.**

"So, you did some research yourself, eh Fullmetal?" I said slowly.

He smirked at me, knowingly. I hated that look more than ever, especially when it was coming from him. I hated feeling inferior to a fifteen-year-old.

"Yeah, I guess I did," he replied smugly. "Bet you're glad I did, too, eh Colonel? Or you'd still be back at square one."

I kept my cool. He was only stroking his own ego, which I had certainly gotten used to. I glanced back toward Hawkeye, who was watching me carefully. The look on her face was unreadable.

_Why is she looking at me like that? Stop it! Look away! _

I had to force myself to look back at Ed, who was continuing to look like he was sitting on top of the world. Maes sat in the other chair, trying to look innocent. Finally, I spoke up.

"I guess the real question now is," I said calmly. "How did you find out about the murders? They were supposed to be kept secret."

I glanced at Maes, who was looking at the floor. Ed turned toward him and then looked back at me. Hawkeye took her gaze off me to look at him. I could tell that she had been wondering the same question.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, told me..." he said matter-of-factly. "That's when I took the list of victims and cross-referenced it with some names I found in an old record book."

I stared at Maes. "Maes," I started. "What did I say shortly before you left?"

"Sorry, Roy..." he said. "I couldn't resist."

"You're lucky I don't write you up for disobeying orders," I said seriously.

He knew I wasn't really serious, but I had to keep some sort of authority around the kid. Maes had covered my ass so many times that it wouldn't be fair for me to get him for something so small.

Or at least, it was small now. If Ed was already interested in helping, he was more than likely to get even more involved and possibly hurt along the way. We didn't know what we were dealing with.

"Why are you even interested in this?" I said, focusing back on Ed.

"You didn't let me explain yet, Colonel..." He said, losing the smug look.

"Explain away..." I leaned back in my chair and folded my fingers together. Watching him with interest. I was keen to hear what he had to say. It was my turn to wear a smirk.

"Each and every one of the victims on the list had something to do with the research of the Philosopher's Stone." he stated ardently.

_Ah, of course..._

He was only in it for the stone. I knew it. Well, not completely. I had no idea that they were involved with it. This would certainly make things more interesting.

"Lieutenant Hawthorne was involved with the stone?" I asked, eyeing Ed. "I didn't know he was a specialist in that field."

It wasn't Ed who answered. "It was undercover work. He was one who was to keep an eye on the Homunculi. Disguised mostly as a citizen, he could overhear conversations easily." Maes answered.

"Had he learned anything?" I continued.

Maes shook his head. "I don't know, sir. The Führer is looking into it, to see exactly what Hawthorne was working on."

I looked at him quickly. "You've already told the Führer about this?"

"Yes," Maes answered briskly. "We figured it was something he would like to know about."

I frowned and looked down at my desk. The papers from earlier were still there, but several of them were missing. I chuckled under my breath.

"Clever, Maes..." I muttered. "You sneak back in here while I'm gone and go through my work." I looked up at him. "You know, that kind of stuff will get you into trouble some day."

He smiled wryly. "It's my job, sir."

I shook my head slowly, becoming more serious. "From now on, any information you obtain about the Philosopher's Stone or about the murder victims _or_ the alleged Alchemist killer stays between us. I don't want anymore people involved. Any information passed on to the Führer will be given to him by me. Is that understood?"

They all stared back at me, unmoving. Slowly, I saw Hawkeye nod her head. Maes followed, however Ed remained still. I knew he would never tell King Bradley about anything, but he couldn't resist telling others of his great discoveries.

"Ed..." I said warningly. "Is that understood?"

He nodded shortly. "I can tell Al though, right?"

I sighed. Of course he could tell Al. Al would probably be the one to keep his head in a situation like this. "Yes, Ed. You can tell Al."

"All right." he said. "Cause he already knows..."

I sighed and looked at Hawkeye for help. She caught my eye and turned to the others.

"Well, the Colonel has a lot of work to do, so I think it's best the two of you got back to work." she told them.

Standing, they headed for the door. I knew they would continue talking in the hallway about it, completely disregarding my orders, but frankly, I didn't care at the moment. I looked at Hawkeye almost pitifully.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"No problem, sir..." she replied.

I watched as she walked over to my desk and picked up the folder containing the information on the murder victims.

"Do you think it's true?" I asked.

"What?" she said, looking over the papers. "That they were all involved with the Philosopher's Stone?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She glanced over the top of the folder. "It's possible. Edward does know a thing or two when it comes to that topic. I do believe he knows what he's talking about."

I nodded again, this time a lot slower. She flipped through a few pages, looking very solemn.

"So many people have died looking for this stone. I wonder why anyone even bothers anymore..." she said.

"It's a stone many would die for," I told her quietly. "It gives you unlimited power. Power to bring back the dead. Power to restore even the worst of fates. Power to do anything you've ever wanted. So many would give anything to possess it, _do_ anything..."

She watched me, as I thought for a moment. I had a sneaking suspicion of who might be involved in the murders, but it didn't make much sense.

"Are you thinking of the Homunculi, sir?" she asked as if she could read my mind. I wondered sometimes if she honed that particular skill.

"Yes..." I answered.

"Do you think they're behind this?" she leaned against the desk lightly.

"No," I said honestly. "It doesn't sound like them at all, but I wouldn't put it past them to be in on it somehow. After all, they do know everything there is to know about the Stone and they don't want anyone else to know about it."

"I agree, sir..." Riza said, looking back at the papers. "But why would they leave such a clean trail? It's not like them."

I leaned further back in my chair, tempted to kick my feet up onto desk. I could tell that this was going to cause me to many long nights of restless sleep. It was growing increasingly more difficult to sleep at night with the million and a half thoughts racing through my head.

Not to mention I hadn't been on a date in over two weeks...

"I don't know, Hawkeye..." I said wearily, glancing at my watch. It was only noon. I was in for a very, very long day, which I hoped would not be filled with even more paperwork.

As if the world were out to get me, there was a knock on the door and Fuery entered looking hesitant.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mustang," he said nervously. "I have some papers for you. They're from the Führer , sir."

"What are they?" I asked, eyeing the several folders in Fuery's hands.

"Just some reports you need to fill out, sir, I believe." he answered, looking down at them. "He says he wants them back to him before tomorrow morning. All of them."

I rolled my eyes and motioned for him to bring them over to my desk. "Next time, Fuery, do me a favor and burn them."

He looked nervous and I smiled reassuringly. I hadn't been kidding, but it was best to make it look like I was. When he left, Riza smiled at me.

"Why tell him to do it when you can do it yourself, Colonel?" she asked slyly.

I moved back into my relaxed position and laughed. "Then I would feel guilty. If Fuery did it, I wouldn't feel so bad."

"Even though you were the one to tell him to do it in the first place?" she continued, placing the folder in her hands on top of the pile.

"He doesn't _have_ to listen to me," I answered, shrugging and closing my eyes.

I heard her laugh quietly. "But then you would have to write him up for 'disobeying orders' now wouldn't you, Colonel?"

I opened my eyes and sat straight up. She was staring at me again. It was starting to make me nervous. Though, of course, I would never in a thousand years admit it.

I looked away quickly and grabbed the nearest folder, which happened to be the one Hawkeye had just put down. She reached out for it and grabbed it out of my hands, moving across the room. She looked at me sternly.

"You have other work to be dealing with, sir," she said. "You should finish that first and then move on to this."

I watched her as she busied herself with a few of the papers. She was reading over then, chewing on the end of a pen she had picked up. It took me a moment to realize that several minutes had passed and I had been staring.

_Get yourself together, Mustang!_

I pulled the top folder closer to me and opened it, picking up a pen and beginning to write. I was certainly right when it came to one thing. It was going to be a long day.

I awoke to the sound of someone saying my name. I looked up and saw Maes standing in front of me, bent over slightly to peer into my face. I noticed that Hawkeye was no longer in the room.

"Roy?" he said, "Roy?"

"Huh?" I said drowsily. "Oh, Hi. I was just looking over some-"

"You're working yourself too hard, Roy..." he told me slowly, pulling the folder from underneath my hand.

Rubbing my eyes, I leaned back in my chair. "And you don't work nearly hard enough..."

Maes merely smiled. "I'm taking a break, like you obviously just did."

"I was just relaxing," I said defensively. Certainly I hadn't been asleep for very long. "What time is it?"

"Nearly 6:30," he answered, sitting down in a chair.

Damn, I had been asleep for a while. Why hadn't Hawkeye woken me up? She would never have let me fall asleep on the job.

"Where's Lieutenant Hawkeye?" I asked, sounding grumpier than I had intended.

Maes took off his glasses and wiped them with his sleeve. "She was returning some papers. She said something about going to the shooting range to work on her shot afterward. I believe she'll be back soon, no need to worry." He replaced his glasses and threw me a very wide grin.

"Work on her shot, eh?" I said. "As if she needs to. What is she really doing?"

"Beats me," he answered, shrugging. "That's just what I heard."

I sat for a moment, staring at a report in front of me. I read the first line twelve times and still had no idea what it said. I wished Maes would leave so I could finish up what I had been working on.

"You know, I spoke with Hawkeye yesterday," Maes said abruptly.

I looked at him over the top of my paper. "So? I speak with her every day. What's your point?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, really. She's a rather lonely person, don't you think? I mean, I've never once seen her go out on a date."

I scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, Maes, she...she..."

I fell silent. I had never seen or heard of her dating before either. I had never really given it much thought, but now that I noticed, I-I...

_How could I not have realized it before?_

Maes continued to smile at me, as if he knew something I didn't. I hated it when people gave me that look. "You can't think of a single date she's ever been on, can you? Don't you find that a bit strange?"

Honestly? Yes. Very much so.

"No," I lied. "She's obviously too busy to date. It must be working for her, though. I've never heard her complain."

"Work? You think it's work?" Maes shook his head slowly. "I don' think it's work, Roy. You're twice as busy as her and still manage to date every woman in sight. I think she's waiting for someone." His eyes flashed furtively. "You know what I mean? Someone she cares about more than anyone else..."

"That's enough, Maes..." I said resolutely.

"Roy, I've been saying it for years," he continued. "Hawkeye is a great-"

"I said that's enough!" my voice rose, but I was certain I had no part in the matter. It just sort of happened.

Maes stared back at me, blinking slowly and quite aware that he had hit a nerve. We had gotten into arguments like this on so many occasions, but they never seemed to let up. He wasn't going to stop badgering me until I settled down and got married, which I had no intention of doing. At least, not at the moment.

And I had never even met a woman who made me feel like I...like I...well...like I was really in love.

_Hawkeye..._

No! I shook my head furiously. I wasn't thinking straight. There was no way there were feelings between Hawkeye and me. It was just impossible. We'd known each other for far too long.

Trying to shove the idea of her to the back of my mind, I turned back to Maes.

"I think I should get back to work," I told him. "I've fallen behind. Maybe you should go as well."

Maes nodded and left without another word. I found it difficult to focus on the reports in front of me after that, even more so when Hawkeye returned.

"Enjoy your nap, Colonel?" she asked, smiling.

I tried to stay focused. "Why didn't you wake me? Now, I'm even more behind than before."

She frowned and stopped in front of my desk. She didn't answer, but continued to stare at me. I avoided her gaze.

"And where were you? Don't tell me you were at the shooting range, because I know that's not true," I said very quickly.

She was quiet for a moment, but finally spoke. "I _was _at the shooting range, sir." she said. "But, I spoke with the Führer first. I was buying you more time for those reports. You have until Thursday for them to be finished."

I stared back at her in shock. She was certainly amazing, there was no doubt about that.

"I didn't want to wake you, because you seemed so worn out," she added softly. "You might want to turn in early tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Lieutenant Havoc about something."

She turned swiftly and headed for the door, leaving me to feel extremely guilty. Just before leaving, she glanced at me over her shoulder.

"Oh and...you're welcome, sir."

**A/N:** Like I've said before, REVIEW! More to come, I promise. I'm working on a hundred different stories at once, (Not all fanfics, which explains why they're not on here) and I've pretty much dropped everything to write this, so I've got to get back into my others while trying to work on this one. If you've already reviewed...um...review again! I like feeling special!


	4. Was It Really A Dream? G

**Chapter 4: Was It Really A Dream? G.**

Darkness filled the cavernous room. The only light was from the torches that hung on the walls, casting eerie shadows among those standing. In front of them stood a tall throne-like statue. One would believe it to be empty, if a voice were not emitting from it.

"You are proving useless, my friends..." a thickly accented voice drawled. "You haff not done vat I asked..."

"We are trying our best..." a voice stated. "It is not easy to track down all of the Alchemists at once..."

"I ordered for the best to be killed first," the voice from the throne continued. "And yet, they still live. The others mean nothing to me."

"We are only killing those you ordered to, my liege..." another voice spoke up, this time more high pitched and clearly female.

"The Flame Alchemist still lives!" the first voice said angrily. "I ordered him to be killed first! Vat is he doing still alive?"

"He is not easy to track down," another pleaded. "We have tried and he is always so heavily guarded."

The person sitting on the throne fell silent. A strange chill blew threw the room, causing several of them to shudder involuntarily. Their leader moved slightly, only their outline able to be seen in the dim lighting.

"Yes, I do believe that is true..." they said. "But ve are vorking on that. He vill not be guarded so vell very quickly."

"Are you planning on killing the other?" a gruff voice asked. The owner's face was easily seen in the light from the torch. It was rough and bore several scars, no doubt from a hard war. "The First Lieutenant?"

"If we haff to..." their leader replied simply. "I no longer care for keeping this clean. It is getting far to dangerous. Kill whoever gets in the vay."

"They have gotten the Flame Alchemist involved..." a voice from the back spoke up. "I saw him pull into the driveway of the Hawthorne place. He had his Lieutenant with him. They obviously are doing their research."

Their leader sounded pleased. "Then the plan is already in motion. It is best ve get him involved now. It vill make it easier in the end."

"What are you saying?" the gruff voice asked. "How will him knowing about us make anything easier? He will certainly have spies."

"I haff spies, do I not?" their leader's voice was becoming sharp. "But that is not the point. Instead of going out to find him, he vill come to us. Then ve vill finish him off."

"What about the one they're all talking about?" a younger voice asked. This came from a muscular male, with a strange tattoo across his forehead. "The Full Metal one."

"Kill him," was the response. "If any of you come across the one they call the 'Full Metal Alchemist', I vant you to kill him immediately, no questions asked. He is the most dangerous of them all."

"And the Homunculi?" the female voice asked. "What are we to do about them?"

Their leader fell silent again. The followers remained still, waiting for the answer.

"Ve leave them," the voice answered. "For now, they are our allies. They know everything there is to know about the stone. Once it is over, and every last trace of the stone is gone, ve vill destroy them like the others."

"How so?" a panicky voice asked, this time belonging to a frailer looking man. "You've seen them, oh great one. They are not easy to kill."

"I haff my vays..." the leader replied. "It vill not be so hard..."

"But, they cannot-"

"Do you doubt my power?" the voice rose furiously. "Do you not think that I am more powerful than them?"

"No, no..." he said quickly. "I didn't say that. I would never believe that! I was only saying that-" he began to bow quickly as a noise came from the throne.

Echoing through the room, heels clicked across the stone of the throne, stopping just before the light. The others moved aside quickly, bowing as well. The panicking man, lay as close to the floor as possible, begging for forgiveness.

"I am not a forgiving person, Berton..." the leader said bluntly. "Surely, you know that..."

And with a bright flash of light, Edward Elric shot up in bed, breathing heavily. He clutched his chest and squinted his eyes, feeling as if he had just been temporarily blinded.

Looking around the room, Ed tried to catch his breath. When he realized he was still in his room, he rubbed his eyes hard, trying to regain focus.

"Al?" he said into the darkness. "Al? Al, are you awake?"

There was no response. Ed pulled his knees up to his chest as best as he could, a sharp pain running through his leg. The words of the people in his dream still hung in the air, as if they had been in that very room when they said it. He couldn't seem to shake them off.

_Come on, Elric...it was just a dream..._

It was just a dream, but it had been about him. They had mentioned him at one point. They had planned to kill him. Whoever 'they' were. The voice of their leader chilled Ed down to his very bones, for it reminded him of his other enemies.

The Homunculi...

They were mentioned as well. Whoever had been speaking needed them, but planned to kill them in the end. If they weren't also planning on killing Ed as well, he would have been keen to side with them.

They had mentioned the stone as well. Whoever they were, they knew something about the stone and didn't want others to know about it. If they wanted to destroy the stone, Ed would have to get to them before they were able to. If they destroyed the stone and everyone connected to it, he would never get his old body back...

And Al...

Al would remain a living suit of armor for the rest of his life. Ed didn't want to see that happen to his brother. He would do anything to change them back.

Rolling over, Ed tried not to focus on what he had just seen and heard. Part of him tried to remember what the leader looked like. He had only seen a little of whoever it was, but it was not enough to go on.

The next morning he would tell the Colonel what he learned. They had been planning his death as well. It was almost certain Roy would laugh and shake it off as some silly child's nightmare. Perhaps he should tell Hawkeye first. She would understand better.

Yawning, Ed drifted back to sleep, fighting off the rest of the nightmares that seemed to be attacking his brain.

XXXXX

"It was just a nightmare, Ed..." Roy said, not looking up at the boy in front of him. "Nothing to worry about."

"I knew you were going to say that!" Ed groaned, irritated. "I don't know why I even told you!"

Roy didn't speak as Ed paced angrily back and forth in front of his desk. Riza watched, unsure of what to say. Ed seemed quite disturbed about the dream he had, and frankly, she was interested to hear more.

"You told me, because you like the feeling of knowing things that others don't," Roy told him bluntly. "It sits you a little higher on your throne of arrogance..."

"Arrogance?" Ed burst. "You're certainly one to talk, you damned-"

"Edward..." Riza spoke up cautiously.

Ed slammed his metal arm down onto the desk, causing it to rattle and shake. "Dammit, Colonel, they talked about you! They're planning on killing you too!"

"Be careful what you say, Edward..." Riza spoke again.

Roy stared at Ed for a moment, not sure what to think of what he had just said. He looked away, hastily. There were many people out there who wanted to kill him. How would this be any different?

"_Are you planning on killing the other? The First Lieutenant?"_

"_If ve haff to..._"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Ed turned to her suddenly. "You believe me, don't you?"

She didn't answer him. He desperately look back and forth from each of, growing more and more infuriated. Al had been concerned when he'd mentioned it this morning, why weren't they?

Before he could say another word, the phone rang and Roy answered it. He spoke to the person on the other end for a minute, then paused.

"Maes, do you think you could come to my office for a minute?" he asked. "Before you head back to Central. Thanks."

He hung up and waited silently for someone to say something. Ed didn't speak, for he knew they would only shoot him down. A few minutes later, the door opened slowly and Hughes entered.

"What's up, chief?" he asked, staring at Roy.

"Tell me Maes," he started slowly. "In your research have you ever come across accounts of prophetic dreaming?"

Hughes nodded. "Certainly. All the time. Sometimes they'll see scenes of the past as well as the future. There have even been records of people seeing scenes while they're asleep that were happening at that exact moment, miles and miles away."

Ed shot Roy a haughty smirk. Roy avoided looking at him.

"Why?" Hughes continued. "Who's been having dreams?"

"Ed has..." Roy said calmly. "He claims he saw who's been murdering the state alchemists in his dream last night."

"I didn't actually see them," Ed corrected him. "I only saw a few of the followers. Their leader was sitting in the dark. I couldn't see his face."

"Leader?" Hughes looked at him, startled. "You mean, there are more than one of them?"

Ed nodded. "Maybe twenty or so. Some of them didn't say anything, so I couldn't see them."

Hughes sat down in the other chair, thinking deeply. "Do you remember anything about any of them? Anything that would help you recognize them?"

Ed looked at the floor. "One of them had a tattoo across his forehead, and another had a pretty scarred up face. I didn't get better looks at them though."

"And their leader?" he asked.

"They had a strange accent. It was low and thick, so I couldn't really tell if it was a girl or a guy..." Ed told him. "But that's all I can tell you."

"What happened in the dream?" Hughes said, sounding interested.

Roy and Riza exchanged glances. They weren't quite sure where Hughes was going with this interrogation. Ed had told them nearly everything.

"They were talking about the stone," Ed recounted. "The leader said that they weren't working fast enough. They needed to kill more Alchemists."

"Did they name anyone?" Hughes interrupted.

Ed glanced at Roy and nodded. "Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Roy had expected him to say his name and was stunned that instead, he spoke the name of his First Lieutenant. Riza stood in shock, but made no real reaction.

"The Colonel..." he finished. "And me..."

"Anyone else?" Hughes asked, showing no signs of alarm.

"Yeah," Ed said quickly, remembering it. "They were talking about the Homunculi! They said that they were allies for now, but when the time came, they were going to destroy them."

Finally showing some sign of emotion, Hughes frowned. "So clearly, we're dealing with someone very powerful. First of all, planning to betray and attempt to destroy the Homunculi is both foolish and crazy."

Ed looked insulted, for he had be planning on destroying each of them one by one for a very long time.

"Secondly, the Homunculi obviously trust them, which makes them, without a doubt, an even greater evil." Hughes continued. "Either that, or the Homunculi are using them they way they're using the Homunculi. Maybe they both have the same plan."

Ed shook his head quickly, trying to make heads or tails of what Hughes was saying. It didn't sound like he was really speaking to anyone. It was more like he was thinking aloud.

"Then again, if we go after them, they may side together and form an unbeatable group and destroy _us_ instead of each other..." he said. "Which, ultimately, brings us back to their original plan."

Roy and Riza seemed to understand, but Ed was long lost. Roy nodded slowly, while Riza looked at the floor.

"So..." Ed said slowly. "You're pretty much saying we have to kill them before they kill us, right?"

Hughes nodded. "Exactly."

"Okay," Ed sighed. "_That_ I understand. Let's go find them."

"Don't be stupid, Ed..." Roy said shortly. "You can't go and face all of them on your own. It would be considered suicide and honestly, I don't want to deal with the paperwork that would follow something like that."

"All you can think about is yourself," Ed shot back at him. "If you're so high and mighty, why don't you go after them? Or are you afraid?"

Riza opened her mouth to defend Roy, but Roy held up a hand to silence her.

"I am afraid," he said. "I'm afraid that we'll only get ourselves into more trouble if we go in there without all our facts straight. We may be faced with an Alchemist, or we may be faced with a monster. Either way, we don't know how to stop it."

"And we won't know, unless we get out there!" Ed was now standing, the color rising in his face.

"We will soon," Roy said, remaining calm. "For now, we must-"

The phone interrupted him and he answered it, ignoring the rude look Ed was now giving him. Roy sat up quickly as the person on the other end addressed him.

"Yes, sir." He said deeply. "I will, sir. We'll get right on it."

Hanging up, Roy glared in Ed's direction. They waited in silence for him to explain what was going on.

"You may have just gotten what you wanted, Ed..." he said. "That was the Führer. There's been another murder and they have the suspect cornered. They want us out there immediately."


	5. The First Encounter RH

**DISCLAIMER:** -hides Roy Mustang in a nearby closet- Uhhhh...I do not own any of the FMA characters...(to your knowledge...muahaha!) -clears throat- Uhm yeah...

**A/N:** Okay, so by request I've added more Ed, more action and a bit more horror into it. You know, this did start out as a love story, once upon a time. (Trust me, the romance will be there. I would not have this story without it.)

**Chapter 5: The First Encounter RH.**

We pulled up to the site of the newest murder in rather quick timing. Before the car had even stopped, Edward had leapt from the car and was racing down the back alley.

"Ed!" Roy called after him, opening his door hastily. "Ed, don't do anything yet! Ed, get back here!"

"Brother!" Alphonse cried out from the back seat. His large size prevented him from leaving the car quickly. "Brother, wait!"

I pulled over as quickly as possible, allowing Alphonse enough time to exit safely. Pulling the gun from my hip, I raced after them.

The street was crowded. Other military officers had obviously tried, and failed, to disperse the crowd of onlookers. A white sheet covered what I assumed to be the dead body.

"She's right through there," I heard an officer say ahead. Roy was still trying to stop Edward before he got to her first. I knew he never would.

Catching up, I nearly ran into Alphonse as he stopped abruptly. Ahead, Edward was locking in an intense battle with a very skilled woman. There was something on the ground that resembled an unfinished transmutation circle. I assumed that had been her escape plan before we arrived.

I stood next to the Colonel, who watched curiously. The look on his face was unclear and one could almost mistake it for awe or amazement.

There was a flash of light and a large weapon replaced Edward's right arm. He slashed at the fast moving woman. When he transmuted his arm, she had paused for a moment to gawk at him.

"You are the one they call 'Full Metal'?" her voice was oddly high-pitched. "I have only heard stories about you. I never thought I would be the one to find you!"

"That's right!" Edward said through gritted teeth. "I'm Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist!"

The woman darted from his attacks with unbeatable skill. I raised my gun and began to aim. I wasn't sure that Edward would be able to defeat her on his own.

Roy flung out his arm and lowered my gun, his eyes still locked on Edward. "No," he said quietly. "Let him do it alone."

I stared at him in shock. How could he just watch as the poor boy fought without any sign of doing damage? He would wear himself out, causing himself to become more vulnerable.

"Where are your bodyguards?" the woman taunted. "Surely a mighty Alchemist as yourself must have a whole team of guards to protect you."

"I work alone!" He replied, taking another swipe at her, narrowly missing her side by millimeters.

As I continued to watch them, I noticed a difference in the woman. She, not Edward, was becoming weary and never once had she attempted to transmute something. It became quite clear that she was either only skilled in Alchemy with drawn transmutation circles, or not skilled in it at all. The unfinished transmutation circle may have been a desperate attempt to get away.

Edward attacked again, this time, catching her leg with the edge of his blade. She cringed in pain and stumbled a bit.

"Never thought something so small would be so powerful..." she said, gasping for breath.

Edward growled angrily. "I AM NOT SMALL!"

The woman cackled as Ed charged toward her. Her laughter was cut off sharply when he took a good chunk out of her side. I felt myself cringe a little as blood squirted from the wound.

"Tell me about the stone!" Edward ordered, advancing on her.

She shot up and limped away hastily. "Never! You'll have to kill me first, oh Full Metal One."

"Planning on it," Edward said heatedly. "Once you tell me everything you know."

She rolled over quickly, landing against a wall to an old abandoned building. I began to panic as the wall shook tediously.

"Colonel, please..." I started.

"Shh," he hushed me. His eyes were wide and I was certain I hadn't seen him blink once during the whole ordeal.

"My Mistress will be proud of me, no matter what happens..." the woman said, leaning against the wall. Blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth. She appeared to be more wounded than I thought.

"Who do you work for?" Edward pointed the end of his blade at her neck.

The woman shook her head slowly and began to laugh. It became more maniacal as she went on. I could tell that Edward was becoming impatient. He moved his blade closer to her, the tip of it just biting into her skin. She stopped laughing.

"Are you really going to kill me?" she asked, smirking.

"Yes," Edward answered bluntly.

"Full Metal, stop!" Roy finally said.

Both Edward and the woman turned to look at the man who had spoken. The woman's eyes glittered evilly.

"The Flame Alchemist..." she said.

I noticed her move her arms and I jumped forward. "EDWARD, MOVE!"

There was a bright light and she pounded her fists against the wall. The brick of it shook and began to crumble. I felt the Colonel grab my by the arm and pull me back protectively. Edward hesitated for a moment and then raced toward us. The woman showed no sign of moving.

"You will never behold the power that is the Philosopher's Stone!" were her last words as the rubble crashed down on top of her.

When the dust settled, I checked Edward to make sure that he wasn't hurt. He told me she hadn't laid a hand on him.

"You shouldn't have killed her..." Roy said, approaching where we stood. "She's no good to us dead."

"Hey!" Edward said defensively. "I didn't kill her! She did that herself!"

"It doesn't matter," Roy said. "We're no further than we were earlier. The question is, if she could use Alchemy to end it all, why didn't she use it during battle? She was ordered to kill you wasn't she?"

Edward nodded. "I was wondering the same thing. It didn't make much sense."

"She could certainly use it," Roy said pointedly. "That building was old, but it was strong as ever. And the body was killed just like all the others."

"I remembered her," Edward said absently. "She was in my dream. She spoke to the leader."

I looked up at him. "What did she say?"

Edward shook his head. "I don't really remember. I only heard one woman speak and it was definitely her. I think she was the one who brought up the Homunculi."

Roy stared at the ground for a moment. It was clear he was thinking about something.

"Who was the man who was murdered, sir?" I asked, eager to get some answers.

"They haven't told me yet," he said bitterly, looking up. "I'm going to find out though."

A few men in uniforms began to pick the body up, when a cry came from the crowd.

"That's my wife!" a man shouted. "Let me through! That's my wife!"

I stood in shock as a young man pushed his way through the crowd and hurried toward the uniformed men. He was obviously very distraught.

"Sir, please, you're going to have to wait-" one officer told him.

"No, please, this is my wife," the man pleaded, grabbing the white cloth. "Please, you have to let me see her."

"Sir, this is a murder investigation." the other officer said. "Come with us and we'll have you identify her later."

Still sobbing, the man followed them, clutching the white cloth. I stood there silently, letting what just happened soak in. It made me start to think.

If I were to ever die like this, would someone mourn for me? Would someone break from a crowd and beg an officer just to let them see my face one more time? Would I ever have someone who loved me like that?

I finally blinked when I felt a hand on my shoulder. The Colonel had returned.

"Are you okay, Hawkeye?" he asked quietly.

I nodded, though I was certain all speech had left me. I turned back to the others, who had gathered to hear what Roy had to say.

"They believe that the victim's name is Rosemary Villa. She was a scientist who worked at Central. A big help to the research of the Philosopher's Stone." he explained.

"But they're not sure?" Alphonse asked, still thinking about the upset man.

Roy shook his head. "No. They're actually 100 percent positive. They only said they were going to let him identify her to calm him down. I've seen it done a thousand times. It never really helps."

"But she was involved with the stone?" Edward asked.

"Yes," Roy answered. "One of the last. There aren't many left, which means we don't have much time. Ed, if you have any more of those dreams of yours, you are to inform me immediately. I'm going to talk to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes to put him on guard. I need to inform the families of other stone workers to be on the lookout."

We nodded and headed back toward the car. There was nothing else for us to do there. The police would clean up the mess and deal with the woman buried underneath it.

"What are _we_ going to do now?" Alphonse asked once we had headed back to headquarters.

"I don't know..." Roy answered softly. I knew it pained him to admit it, but there wasn't much we could do. We had no leads. No evidence. Nothing to go on, but a dream. "We're just going to have to wait and see what happens next..."

**A/N:** Okay, so it's not a very, very long chapter, but it seemed okay to me. Please review! The next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it. I'm going to be busy for a while, so updates won't be as frequent.


	6. A Dinner Date G

**DISCLAIMER:** -in a very bored like tone- I do not own FMA or any of the related characters...

**A/N:** Okay, so here's chapter 6. I had a really hard time with this one, because I wanted to bring back some of the romantic aspects I had first based this story on (and have long since been lost), but the circumstances made that difficult. It has a little action in it, some romance and a teeny-tiny bit of horror-like stuff toward the end. Ish...sorta...-pauses- Just read it.

**Chapter 6: The Dinner Date. G.**

Riza bustled around her kitchen, trying to find something to throw together for dinner. Black Hayate followed her as she moved back and forth.

While stirring some vegetables, she caught sight of her dog watching her. She smiled and chuckled lightly.

"It's just us two again tonight, Braha..." she said to him.

Black Hayate whimpered and Riza sighed.

"Don't give me that," she said. "It's not my fault, you know. If he wasn't so goddamned stubborn-"

Before she could finish, Black Hayate raced into the other room. She shook her head slowly and continued making what was going to have to suffice as dinner for the two of them.

Black Hayate began to bark and whine at the door a moment later.

"Black Hayate!" she yelled. "You've already been for your walk!"

As he continued to bark and whine, Riza wiped her hands and started toward the door to see what he was barking at.

"Black Hayate, what-?"

Then she heard it. There was a sharp knock at the door. Hesitantly, she opened it and Black Hayate shot out into the hall.

Riza froze as she spotted who had knocked on her door. If her heart hadn't been pounding hard enough to break her chest, she would have been convinced it had stopped.

"C-Colonel," she said, stunned. "What are you doing here?"

Roy stood before her, wearing a pair of black pants, a white button up shirt and a loose black tie. It had been ages since she'd last seen him dressed like that. Part of her preferred it more than his usual uniform.

"I...uh..." he started hesitantly, clearing his throat. "I was in the neighborhood and wanted to know if maybe you...maybe you wanted to have dinner with me...tonight...?"

Riza stared at him, hardly aware of the dog who was happily running through and around their legs. Black Hayate yelped and Riza picked him up.

"Well, actually," Riza said. "I was planning on-"

"Oh, well if you're busy, then that's fine," Roy cut her off. "Maybe some other time..."

Before he could walk away, Riza spoke. "What I was saying, sir," she said. "Was that I was planning on it being just Black Hyate and I tonight, but I would love to have dinner with you."

His eyes lit up. "Really? Well, that's good."

Riza nodded, agreeing with him. Black Hyate barked happily, which told Riza that she had his approval as well.

"I just need to change," Riza told him. "Come on in..."

He entered her small apartment and looked around. There were several photographs on the walls and stands. Riza disappeared into her bedroom, while Roy looked them over.

A photo on a stand near the doorway caught his eye. It was of a younger Riza and an older man. He recognized the man immediately as Riza's Father. Roy had known him quite personally.

"What am I going to wear?" Riza muttered to herself as she tore through her closet. Nothing seemed to look right.

Roy laughed as he heard her talking to herself as she struggled to find something to wear. The fact that she was so nervous about the whole thing made him a bit more relaxed. It meant that it really did mean something to her.

Black Hayate sat on Riza's bed as she finally pulled on her final outfit. He barked and she nodded.

"I have to agree with you," she said. "This is nice."

She turned to her dog and sat down next to him on the bed. He rested his head on her lap.

"Listen, my Braha...'" she said quietly. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. You understand, don't you? Mommy has to leave you just for tonight. I'll be back though, I promise."

Roy stood by her door, which was slightly open, and listened in. He smiled faintly as he heard her talking to her dog. He was always relieved to see her softer side.

Black Hayate looked up at her and hopped down off of the be, scampering off into the kitchen. Riza followed him. As she entered the living room, Roy, who had made a beeline for the next room when he'd heard her move, turned to look at her. He stared at her, wide-eyed.

"You look..." he said. "Great!"

Riza looked down. She was wearing a short black dress. It was simple and a bit more tight fitting than she had hoped. She wore matching heels and held a black purse in her hand. Her hair was pulled back as usual.

"Really?" she asked. "You think so?"

He nodded, moving toward her. "Yes."

As he grew closer her to her, Black Hayate barked and growled. Riza turned to him quickly, glaring at him. She looked back at Roy, smiling forcefully.

"Give me one minute, sir..."

She turned and grabbed Black Hayate by his collar and dragged him into the kitchen. She put the plate of vegetables on the floor in front of him.

"What was that all about?" she hissed. "No more of that, okay? Just eat!"

She returned to the living room as Black Hayate began to eat the food she gave him. Roy was waiting for her patiently. She apologized and told him that Black Hayate was probably hungry.

"You're not going to be like this all night, are you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, fearing she had done something wrong.

He laughed. "You can stop calling me 'sir' or 'colonel'..." he told her. "Just call me Roy, okay?"

Riza smiled and nodded. "But, the same goes for you. None of that 'Lieutenant' or 'Hawkeye' stuff..."

"Okay," he agreed. "Riza..."

At the restaurant, they were shown to their table quickly. Roy pulled out Riza's chair for her and she sat down, watching him as he moved to sit opposite from her. It became awkwardly silent between them as they read the menus.

Every few seconds, Roy would look up at her. After roughly the twelfth time, Riza caught him.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied innocently, smiling and looking back at his menu.

Riza stared at him for a moment, but looked back at her own menu when the waitress appeared at their table.

Coversation picked back up as they waited for their dinner to arrive. Roy's hands rested on the table, while Riza's were in her lap. At one point, Riza reached over and touched his hand lightly.

"Roy, why do you wear these all the time?" she asked, of course, referring to the white gloves he wore 24/7.

He frowned, but didn't move his hand. "I don't, but it's usually a safety precaution. You can never be too careful. And besides, it's habit by now."

She nodded and traced the outline of the transmutation circle with her nail. His eyes watched the movement of her fingers.

"Can I ask you something, now?" he asked.

"Yes..." she answered softly, still playing with his glove.

"Why don't you wear your hair down more often?" he asked, finally looking up at her. "You look very nice with your hair down."

Riza's fingers stopped moving and she looked at him. "I don't know," she answered, smirking a little. "It's habit, I guess."

He laughed and she reached up to pull her hair down. Her golden locks danced about her shoulders in a very elegant way. Roy smiled, pleased. Riza eyed his hands, hinting that he should take off his gloves.

Noticing this, he gave in. Very slowly, he removed his gloves and placed them on the table, beside her purse. It was Riza's turn to smile.

"Can you believe all those murders?" a man's voice drifted from the bar. "And that damned military not doing anything. They show up, clean up the mess and insist that everything is under control. Then, what happens next? BAM! Another dead body lying on the side of the street!"

Roy looked at the man, whose back was turned to him, narrowing his eyes slightly. Riza felt herself grow uncomfortable. Roy couldn't give in to what the man was saying.

_He mustn't lose his temper!_

Being gloveless, Roy wasn't as dangerous, but that wouldn't stop him if he was provoked in the right way.

"Dogs..." another man at the bar said. "All of them. Dirty, stinkin' mutts..."

Riza didn't know how long their food would be, but didn't want to risk Roy losing his temper. He was used to being called a 'dog of the military', but the murders seemed to be a sensitive subject with him.

"Roy," Riza said hesitantly. "Do you want to dance?"

Roy snapped out of his reverie and gaped at her. She stood up and he shook his head furiously.

"No, no, no..." he answered. "I-I don't dance..."

"Aw, come on, Colonel..." she insisted, tugging playfully at his sleeve.

He resisted the urge to stand and continued to shake his head. Riza let go of his sleeve and stared at him, trying to look serious.

"Roy Mustang, get over here right now!"

Publicly humiliated, he stood up and followed her to the small dance floor. She turned to face him, smiling humorously.

"I think I liked you better when you were quiet..." he told her.

She continued to smirk as she placed his hand on her hop and the other in her own hand. Roy took a deep breath.

"I have to warn you," he muttered. "I don't know how..."

Riza began to move them to the beat of the music. As they turned slowly, one of the men from the bar turned to watch them. He was certain he had heard the girl say 'Colonel'. Roy, for 'not knowing how', proved to be very skilled at dancing.

Riza loved the feeling of his hand in hers. She had never felt the bare skin of his fingers before and it gave her chills.

As the dances continued, they grew closer, finally dancing cheek to cheek. Riza's eyes closed as Roy held her close to him. One hand relaxed on his shoulder while the other was laced with his and rested on his chest. All the while, the man at the bar never once took his eyes off of them.

They danced and danced until their dinner had already arrived and was well on it's way to becoming cold. Finally, they sat down to eat, not noticing the pair of eyes following them.

When Roy did look up, the man turned around suddenly, but not before Roy could get a good look at his face. It was deeply scarred.

"_One of them had a tattoo across his forehead, and another had a pretty scarred up face..."_

Roy swallowed hard and breathed deeply. "Riza..." he said quietly. "We have an audience..."

"Hmm?" Riza mumbled, trying to swallow the food she had in her mouth quickly.

"There is a man at the bar..." Roy was sure to keep his voice low. "He keeps looking over at us..."

Riza slowly glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, the man had begun to look at them again. She turned quickly back to Roy.

"Do you think he heard me earlier?" she asked.

Roy shook his head, "I don't know, but something's telling me we should get out of here."

She nodded and grabbed her purse. Roy hurried to fish the money out of his pocket. Riza offered to pay him back, but he wouldn't hear of it at the moment. He left it on the table for the waitress.

Along with something else...

They were barely out the door when Roy froze and turned back. Riza reached for him, but he was out of her range.

"My gloves!" he said.

She followed him back into the restaurant, where Roy was impatiently trying to find their table. He stopped when he noticed the man standing next to where Riza had been sitting only moments before. In his hands were the white pair of gloves. When the man spotted Roy, he grinned widely.

"Flame Alchemist..." the man growled.

Without thinking, Roy punched the man, catching him off guard. He stumbled backward and dropped the gloves on the ground. Picking them up, Roy didn't bother to stick around. There were too many people around to perform Alchemy. Someone would get hurt.

"Riza, GO!" he pushed her toward the door and the two of them raced down the street.

"Who was that?" Riza asked breathily as he told her to run down a deserted alleyway.

Roy came to a stop and looked back down the alley. He couldn't hear anyone following them, but knew the man wouldn't be too far behind. Riza pressed herself against the wall and Roy stood in front of her, with his hand rested on the wall over her shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm not sure..." he answered. "But something tells me, he's involved in those murders..."

Riza moved to go past him. "Then we have to go back!"

"No!" Roy said forcefully, blocking her path. "You're unarmed and there are too many people around. We can't risk it."

"So we're going to just let him go?" Riza asked, horrified.

"For now..." Roy said grimly.

Riza tried to get away, but he held her in place.

"Riza, you know how much I want to get him! You know how badly I want to stop all this from happening, but we just can't." he said. "Not right now. It's not worth a whole bunch of people getting killed over."

"But others will die, Roy!" Riza argued. "Others...other alchemists."

"We put our lives on the line everyday, Riza. That is our job." Roy said, looking into her eyes. "You, for one, should know that."

Riza stopped her struggle and frowned. She hated to admit it, but he was right. There was nothing they could do. Slowly, she nodded and he led her down the rest of the alleyway. They were going to take the back route to her apartment.

Arriving in front of her door, Roy looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry about everything tonight..." he said. "It didn't quite go like I had hoped."

She smiled reassuringly. "No. It was fantastic. I really had a great time."

"Really?" he asked, not believing her.

"Yes..." she nodded. "Being ambushed, included."

Roy laughed bitterly and they both fell silent. There was a moment when his eyes caught hers and he drew her closer to him. Their faces were millimeters apart when-

PLOP!

Her purse fell to the ground and they both leaned down quickly to retrieve it. Roy reached it first. Riza laughed nervously and stood up. He handed it back to her and she moved back against her door. She was convinced that that had been fate telling her to take things slow.

"Good night, Roy..." she said, putting her hand on the doorknob.

Roy opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly and nodded. "Good night, Riza..."

She disappeared into her apartment and Roy rubbed the back of his neck, uneasily. She did seem to have a good time, up until the end. Maybe...Maybe it just wasn't meant to be...

Walking back down the hallway, his mind raced with thoughts about the nights events.

_I guess we're just going to have to wait and see what happens..._

XXXXX

"The Flame Alchemist?" the drawling voice was back. "And his Lieutenant?"

"Yes..." the scarred man, kneeled before the stone throne. "Together."

"And you didn't kill them?" the leader hissed.

"I was caught off guard!" the man insisted. "I didn't expect them to come back and when they did, he...well, he caught me off guard."

The room fell silent as the leader took this information in. "Vere there any other officers vith them?"

The man shook his head. "They were alone. It almost looked like they were on a date."

"A date? Hmmm..." the leader sounded interested to hear this. "So that's it, is it? The Flame Alchemist has a veakness..."

The man looked up, curiously. His leader seemed to be pleased with what they had just heard.

"Very vell, my friend, you're information has proved to be helpful after all," they said. "I vas planning on killing you for letting them escape, but this has allowed you a few more days to live."

"Thank you, my liege..." the man said, bowing his head once again. "You are a high and mighty, forgiving leader after all..."

Kissing the base of the throne, the man moved to leave.

"Do not get used to it..." the leader spoke a final time. "It does not happen very often..."

**A/N:** Okay, well...that's the end of Chapter 6. I'll be posting Chapter 7 as soon as I can. As I said before, this is getting increasingly harder to post every day, because I have more work to do now and am growing busier by the second. Please be patient with me. The next chapter will start to give you more answers...I hope. Oh and REVIEW PLEASE! Thanks!


	7. The First Lead RM

**DISCLAIMER:** -is sleeping on the desk, curled into a little ball due to time constraints which have made it nearly impossible to sleep at regular times. A small sign rests by her hand- "I don't own FMA. You know that by now."

**A/N:** Okay, so I've been trying to make my chapters longer, but I guess that's not coming out so well. I apologize so very much for any out-of-character-ness displayed in any of the characters actions. (Especially Roy's) I've just been trying so hard to try and get this story to go somewhere and I definitely wanted to bring up the romantic aspect again. The romance will be back soon, but this chapter is mainly trying to get some things sorted out. (Trust me, I miss the romance too!) So again, I apologize. You really have no idea how badly I want this to work out! Thank you for reading and please review!

**Chapter 7: The First Lead. RM.**

"Yes, Havoc?" I said as the Lieutenant entered my office. "Can I help you?"

He was shortly followed by Breda, Falman and Fuery. Each of them were staring at me eagerly. I sighed and put down the report in my hand.

"What do you want now?"

They all exchanged sly glances and Havoc approached my desk. Something about the way they were acting made me a bit uneasy.

"Word on the street is that you took Hawkeye out last night," Havoc said, grinning.

"So what if I did?" I replied calmly. "What does it matter?"

I pretended to busy myself with another report. Havoc and the others continued to stare at me.

"Come on, chief, spill it." Havoc insisted. "How'd the date go? What was she wearing? How far did-"

"It wasn't a date," I said forcefully. "It was just dinner. I just thought she deserved a night out on the town."

Havoc raised an eyebrow and it was clear that he didn't believe a word I was saying. I avoided looking at him.

"Come on, Colonel..." he said. "Can't you tell us a little bit?"

"We had dinner," I told him bluntly. "There. Happy?"

"Come on, sir," Breda spoke up. "Something must have happened."

_Yeah it did. I've lost my damn mind. I asked my Lieutenant to dinner. What was I thinking?_

And...

_And I almost kissed her. What the Hell was that all about?_

Something just wasn't making much sense. First, Hughes tells me that he thinks I should go out with Hawkeye. Then, the next thing I know, I'm outside her apartment, tripping over my tongue and asking her to dinner.

_Maybe I'm coming down with something..._

"How do you even know about this?" I asked, irritated.

They all looked at each other and then back at me. I knew what was coming.

"Hughes," they said unanimously.

I knew it. But how _he_ knew was beyond me. Hawkeye would never in a million years tell him. Did he had spies out watching me?

_Knowing Maes, I wouldn't doubt it..._

"Would you all just leave?" I asked them.

I didn't really 'ask', because I wasn't expecting an answer. I just wanted them out of my office!

Without another word, they left and I sighed deeply. I was much too tired to work on anything business related. A nap actually sounded really good.

"Roy?" a head peaked in my doorway and I sat up straight in my chair.

I relaxed when I realized that it was only Maes. He was lucky I didn't own a dart set or several of them would have quickly been embedded in his forehead.

"Hello Maes," I leaned back in my chair. "I've heard you've been talking about me..."

Maes smirked and sat down in a chair. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Havoc's already been here," I said dully. "Him and the rest of the motley crew."

Maes laughed. "I was just happy for you. Can you blame me? I mean, it took you long enough, didn't it?"

I rolled my eyes. Maes was my best friend, but he could be a right pain in the ass.

"Speaking of which," he said. "How did the little date go?"

"It was not a date!" I said heatedly. "It was just dinner!"

"And dancing..." Maes added.

I stared at him, dumbfounded. Did he really have people spying on me? Oh great, now I was going to be completely paranoid.

Maes looked up at me. "I was at the restaurant, Roy..."

"Oh..." I said, slightly embarrassed. "Why?"

"I was taking Gracia out to dinner. It was our anniversary," he explained. "We even brought Elysia along. She's gotten so-"

"Wait!" I interrupted. "You brought your daughter? You let her see what happened?"

Maes looked confused. "See what? All I saw were you two. Well, actually, Gracia saw you first and pointed you out. We left shortly after you started dancing. You seemed to be enjoying yourself..." His face fell. "Why? Did something happen?"

"We were ambushed," I told him. "A man at the bar. We believe he's been involved in the murders."

Maes sat up straighter. "Did you get him?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. Riza was unarmed and there were too many people in that restaurant for me to perform Alchemy."

Maes stared at me, the corner of his mouth turned upward, showing the signs of a smile.

"What?" I asked him, not finding the situation at all humorous.

"Nothing," Maes answered, shaking it off.

"No, tell me..." I insisted.

"It's just..." Maes said, not looking at me. "You just called her 'Riza'. I-I thought it was interesting..."

I didn't do that, did I? Something wasn't right. What was happening to me? My astonishment must have leaked on to my face, because he laughed.

"You've changed, Roy," her said. "You may not notice it now, but you will soon."

I didn't know what he meant, and frankly, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. The scary thing was...

He was probably right.

"Anyway," Maes changed the subject. "What did this man look like?"

"His face was all scarred up-" I started.

"Scar?" he asked.

"No," I answered quickly. "Not Scar. He was older than Scar..."

A moment later, the door opened and Ed entered the room. I had been expecting him to drop in at one point in the day, but not so soon.

"You wanted to see me, Colonel?" he asked.

"I did?" I hadn't mentioned to anyone that I wanted to talk to anyone. "Oh that's right," I said hastily. "I did. Sit down, Ed..."

I could tell he was a bit caught off guard by my strange behavior, but I couldn't blame him. I was too! Instead of sitting, he remained standing in his spot.

"Ed," I began slowly. "The man from your dream, the one with the many scars, what else can you tell me about him?"

Ed grinned tauntingly. "I thought you said it was just a nightmare, sir..."

I looked at him seriously and he sat down next to Maes.

"He was old," he said. "Kind of like you, Colonel..."

"Ed..." I growled.

"His hair was dark," he continued. "Had a couple of gray spots, but that's all I can remember..."

"Do you think you could identify him if you ever saw him again?" I asked.

He nodded. "Probably."

"Good," I said. "We may need you later."

Looking smug as usual, he turned to me. "So, Colonel, what's this I hear about you and Lieutenant-"

The door opened before he could finish his sentence and we all turned to look at it. Hawkeye entered, staring at us curiously. It was obvious she had just entered the middle of a conversation.

"Oh, Edward..." she said, spotting him. "You're already here. Good. Lieutenant Hughes, you're wanted at the main office."

Maes stood and crossed toward the door. He winked at me before he left and glared at him. Ed looked back and forth between Hawkeye and I and cleared his throat.

"I have to get back to Al..." he said, standing quickly and heading for the door.

When he was gone, I picked up my pen and started writing out one of the reports. She crossed over to my desk and pulled it away from me.

"You have a visitor, sir..." she said.

A man appeared at the doorway a moment later. It took me a moment, but I recognized him as the man from the last murder site. I stood up hastily.

"Mr. Villa, I'd like you to meet Colonel Roy Mustang..." Hawkeye said professionally. "Colonel, this is Mr. Jacob Villa."

I shook his hand professionally and offered him the nearest chair. Hawkeye continued to stand in her usual place beside me. Mr. Villa seemed a bit unnerved.

"Thank you for coming to speak to me, Mr. Villa..." I said to him. "I know how difficult it must be for you."

"Thank you for letting me come, sir," he replied. "It has been difficult, not only for me, but for my daughter. I hope this won't take too long, because I've brought her along. They said they were going to leave her in the care of the Lieutenant Colonel. I do hope-"

Hawkeye and I glanced at each other. I smiled weakly. "Don't worry, Mr. Villa. Maes is great with children."

Mr. Villa nodded, though he still looked unsure. "I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be, sir." he said. "I don't know much about my wife's work at all. She was always very particular about it. No one was ever to know what she was working on."

"So, she never told you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No and to be completely honest, I didn't care. I've never cared much for the military." he added quickly, "Begging your pardon, sir." he nodded in Hawkeye's direction. "Ma'am."

I understood. Not many people did care for the military, especially recently. "Did anyone else know about your wife's secret work."

"No, sir," he answered. "It was just the three of us in the house. And of course, Sophie's nanny as well."

"Nanny?" I said, suddenly interested.

"Yes," Mr. Villa said. "Rosemary and I worked very often, so we needed someone to stay at home with Sophie while we were gone. You certainly couldn't leave a five-year-old by herself."

"Did you ever have problems with your Nanny, Mr. Villa?" Hawkeye asked, staring intently at him.

He looked back at her. It was clear that he was debating on what he planned to say. Finally, he looked down at the floor. "Yes," he admitted. "We had problems with her shortly after hiring her. My wife came home one day to find that the Nanny had gone into her private office and was looking over her notes."

"Your wife kept her notes at home?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. "She never left her work at the office. She said that she couldn't risk it."

"She didn't trust her co-workers?" Hawkeye blurted.

He stared at us, wide-eyed. It was obvious we were pelting him with several probing questions that he didn't have the answers to. I apologized and Mr. Villa hung his head.

"Don't worry about it, sir," he said. "I didn't really know anything about my wife now that I look back over the years. We never talked about work. She never talked about anything really. She was very quiet."

I noticed that Hawkeye's facial expression had softened. It looked like there was something about this situation that was deeply bothering her.

"Going back to the Nanny," I said. "What did your wife do after she found her snooping through her notes?"

"Oh, she told me that we had to fire her. Told her that she must have been a spy from another branch of the military trying to figure out her work," he answered, shaking his head slowly. "She never once trusted Julia after that..."

"Julia?" Hawkeye asked, breaking out of her silent stupor. "Was that her name?"

He nodded. "Yes. Julia Vasperez. Why do you ask?"

Neither Hawkeye nor I answered. I knew that she was thinking the exact same thing I was. The Nanny would have to be the prime suspect in this.

"Was Julia working the day of Rosemary's murder?" I asked.

"Yes," Mr. Villa narrowed his eyes. "Do you think Julia had something to do with this? Do you think she murdered-"

"We're not saying anything right now, Mr. Villa," I said, holding up my hand to quiet him. "But we are trying to get some of the facts straight."

"She was working the day, that Rosemary...well she..." he couldn't finish the sentence. I understood and told him to continue. "I had heard there had been an accident and hurried home quickly. She had just put Sophie down for a nap and was wondering why I was in such a hurry. I left before I could really explain what had happened."

"So, Julia still works for you?" I said, thinking we had hit yet another wall.

"Oh no," Mr. Villa answered quickly. "No, she stopped showing up. It must have spooked her or something..."

I leaned back in my chair, trying to fit the pieces together. "Why did you let Miss Vasperez continue working for you?"

"She begged me," he replied simply. "My wife never spoke to her, so I did all the business like stuff with her. I paid her and set her hours. She begged and begged that I didn't fire her. She said that she had nowhere else to go. I-I just couldn't let her go."

"Did she ever bring a friend over?" Hawkeye asked.

I gawked at her. That had been the same exact question I was about to ask. It was strange how working with someone for so long could make you start to think like them.

"Yes," he said, staring at the floor. It looked like he was trying to remember exactly who it was. "I don't believe she ever gave me her name, but she was certainly older. Her mid-twenties, maybe. She said that she was working with Julia on a project."

"How old was Julia?" I asked.

"What did she look like?" Hawkeye asked at the same time.

We looked at each and looked away quickly. Mr. Villa looked at each of us carefully. He narrowed his eyes again, unsure of which question to answer first.

"Julia was nineteen..." he said slowly. "And her friend was maybe twenty-five. Roughly your height, Miss..." he pointed to Hawkeye. "Red hair. Dark eyes. Strange mark on her neck. Kind of-"

"Mark?" I interrupted.

"Yeah," he nodded, stroking the side of his own neck. "Right along here. Looked like a snake of some sorts. I didn't get a good look. She left pretty quickly."

"Did Julia have any kind of marks like this?" Hawkeye asked curiously.

"On her ankle," he said. "It was an almost identical mark. I didn't notice it before her friend showed up."

I opened my mouth to speak, but there was a knock at the door. "Come in," I said loudly.

The door opened and Maes entered, carrying a young girl with long brown hair. He smiled as she played with his glasses. Mr. Villa stood up.

"Is that all you needed, Colonel?" he asked.

"Do you know any way we can contact Miss Vasperez?" I asked.

"I have her number..." He pulled out his wallet and showed me a small piece of paper. "You can keep it. I don't imagine I'll be needing it anymore."

I nodded. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Villa."

He turned to Maes and his daughter. Reluctantly, she let go of him and held onto the arm of her Father. Maes ruffled her hair and looked up at me. I smiled feebly and Mr. Villa started out the door.

"Bye-Bye Mistah Hughes..." Sophie said, looking back over her Father's shoulder and waving at Maes.

He waved back. "Bye-Bye Sophie!"

When the door closed, Maes turned back to us. He was still smiling, though it wasn't as cheerful as it had been moments before.

"Cute kid," he said. "Tragic, really. Did you learn anything?"

I nodded and waved the piece of paper, containing Julia Vasperez's phone number. "We may well have ourselves a suspect. The Nanny. Friend of hers matches the description of the women Ed faced in the back alley."

"Hmm..." Maes started. "You got info on the Nanny too?"

"Did you learn something, Hughes?" Hawkeye said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You know," Maes said, sitting down in a chair. "That's one of the things I love about kids. They're so innocent. And they remember everything."

"Explain," I ordered, still standing.

"Sophie mentioned that her Nanny arrived early the day Mommy disappeared," he said, not blinking. "She also told Sophie that her Mommy wouldn't be coming home that night, because there had been an accident."

"So?" I asked, not seeing where he was going with this.

"I asked her when she had said this, and Sophie said that it was early in the morning. Before her first nap. Her first nap is around lunch time." Maes continued. "Mrs. Villa was discovered-"

"In the afternoon..." I said slowly.

Maes nodded. "Looks like Nanny had something hidden up her sleeve..."

I turned to my phone and picked it up. I dialed the number on the piece of paper and waited patiently. I could feel them watching me carefully.

A strange voice answered on the other end of the line. "Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Julia Vasperez, please?" I asked.

"Julia who?" the man asked.

"Vasperez. I was told I could reach her at this number," I explained.

The man on the other end fell silent for a moment. "Hmmm...Vasperez. Vasperez. Ah yes, the young one. Yeah, she's not here anymore. She disappeared not too long ago."

I frowned. "Do you know where she is?"

"Nah," the man answered. "She didn't leave a note or nothin'. Looks like she didn't even pay her last rent bill either..."

"Did she have any family nearby?" I was fishing around for the tiniest bit of evidence. "Or friends that she hung out with?"

"Not that I remember," he said. "Very strange girl. Used to do strange things in her apartment. Almost sounded like spells or somethin'. Lots of weird smells comin' from that part of the buildin'."

"Did you ever see where she bought her supplies?" I said, getting a sudden idea.

"Ehhh..." he thought. "There's that place nearby that's into that kind of stuff. Zami's...Zarma's...somethin' like that..."

"Zara's!" a woman said in the background.

"Zara's! Yeah, that's it." he said. "Knew it began with a Z."

"Zara's..." I muttered under my breath. I had heard of the place once before. It sold cheap knock-off items for people who wanted to pretend they were doing Alchemy. "Thank you, sir."

I hung up the phone and turned back to the others. They were wearing identical looks of defeat.

"No luck, sir?" Hawkeye asked, sounding a bit tense.

I turned to look out the window as the car containing Mr. Villa and his daughter pulled away.

"Not quite, Hawkeye. It looks like our Nanny's on the run," I said slowly. "And we're going shopping..."

**A/N:** -massages sore wrist- Okay so that's the end of that chapter. I'll have the next one up soon...I hope. It might have to be Friday, cause I'm quite busy tomorrow. (Job interview and such! Wish me luck! Not really...I'm uuber superstitious!) But please keep reading and REVIEW! Thanks a lot!


	8. One Of Their Own G

**DISCLAIMER:** -has hired a spokesman to do this now- "M.C.E.Black would like to say that she does not own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the relating titles. She gives all credit to Hiromu Arakawa."

**A/N:** All right, so I know this is a really short chapter. I excpected it to be a lot longer when I first wrote it out, but I guess I was wrong. Just a few notes, the gender of the villain has been mentioned (you just must have missed it! ) for those of you are still unsure. If you'd rather wait until the end to figure out, that's fine or you can search these past chapters for little itty-bitty details. (Oh and don't get mad at me by some of the events that occur during this chapter...all will turn out for the best! I promise!)

**Chapter 8: One Of Their Own. G.**

Half an hour later, Roy and Riza pulled out of Headquarters and headed toward Zara's Emporium. The drive over was silent and awkward. Riza had to resist looking at Roy in the mirror every five seconds. Roy stared out his window.

Riza pulled into a back parking lot. Still not speaking, Roy led her to a darkened store at the end of the street. They received very curious looks as they entered.

A young woman sat behind a counter. Her long black hair cast a shadow across her face, but it was clear she was working on something they couldn't see.

Roy cleared his throat and the young woman looked up. She was very fair skinned, but wore a lot of makeup. Several chains of beads dangled from her neck and her wrists were covered with bangles. She eyed Roy with interest.

"Hi," she said, standing up. "How may I help you, Mr...?"

"Mustang," Roy finished. "Colonel Roy Mustang."

"Ooooh," she giggled. "A Colonel? Well, sir, what brings you to Zara's Emporium?"

"Are you Zara?" he asked.

She laughed again and batted her unusually long eyelashes. Riza felt like she was going to be sick.

"No, no, no, Mr. Mustang," she said, coming around the counter. " Zara is my grandmother. _My_ name is Regina."

"Well, Regina, I'm going to need some information on one of your customers," Roy told her.

"Oh, Mr. Mustang," she replied, frowning slightly. "You know I can't do that. It's supposed to be confidential."

Roy glanced at Riza over his shoulder. She was staring at Regina. Slowly, he moved closer to the shop girl.

"Listen, this is important, Regina," he told her quietly. "We really, really need your help."

Regina leaned back on the counter and smirked at him. "If I help you out, what will you do for me in return?"

Roy didn't really want to give her the answer she was expecting, but at that point, she was the only one who could help them.

And perhaps it would be good for him. Maybe it would help get Riza off his mind, even if it was just for a little while.

Riza couldn't hear what he said as he leaned closer and whispered something to Regina. She felt her face grow hot and had to resist the urge to grab her gun and shoot the young girl on the spot.

Regina giggled and hurried back behind the counter. "Certainly, Mr. Mustang." She placed a large leather-bound book in front of her. "Now, who would you be looking for?"

"Julia Vasperez," he answered, hoping Riza hadn't heard him a moment before.

"Aah, Julia," Regina said. "One of my more frequent customers. Great girl. Really into the art of Alchemy."

Roy nodded, not believing her. "Have you seen her lately?"

"Yeah," Regina answered. "She was here the other day, but don't bother looking for her around here anymore. She moved."

"Did she tell you where she was going?" Roy asked.

Regina bit her lip and looked up at Roy. "She might have. She will still need supplies later on, won't she?"

"Please tell me," Roy insisted, not feeling up to playing games anymore. "We have a reason to believe she may be involved in a series of murders."

"Murder?" Regina's flirty attitude was dropped quickly. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?"

She busied herself with several pieces of paper that she had in one of her drawers.

"If I ever thought that Julia would...I mean, she never seemed like the kind of person, who..." she babbled. "Here. This is where she was headed and a list of the supplies she would need sent to her."

Roy smiled and reached to take the paper from her. "Thank you, Regina. This is very helpful."

"Did she really kill someone?" Regina asked, not letting go of the it.

Roy tugged on it lightly. "We're not sure..." he answered.

"I never expected her to be doing something so dangerous," her blue eyes seemed to be boring their way into the Colonel's. "You must be so brave to go after someone so...dangerous!"

Roy forced a smile and nodded. "Yes. I've gotten used to it."

Regina let go of the paper. Roy sighed and folded it in half, nodding in her direction.

"So..." Regina started, leaning closer to Roy. "I guess I-"

Before another word could be said, Riza caught Roy by the elbow and dragged him out of the store. He didn't protest. Regina's smile faded and she glared in Riza's direction. Sitting back down on her chair, she busied herself with a small bowl filled with a strange substance.

"Roy Mustang, you will be mine..." she murmured, stirring the liquid with her fingers. Her penetrating gaze was locked onto the swirls of colors made by her nails in an almost trance-like fashion.

"Did you get the information you needed, sir?" she asked sharply.

He read the address and the list of supplies and nodded. "Yes. I've never even heard of some of these before. I don't know what she's using them for. Here," he handed the paper to Riza. "Can you find this place?"

She looked down at it. "I think I knew where this is. It's out past my apartment."

"How fast can you get us there?" Roy asked, not looking at her.

"Half an hour," she said. "Maybe."

"Let's go," he said.

Riza drove them across town, out past her apartment building. Her jealousy was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of sadness. Roy refused to look at her and had been flirting with another girl in front of her. Perhaps she was making their dinner date out to be more than it really was.

They pulled up to the apartment building and got out, staring up at it.

"Get your gun out, Hawkeye," he said. "We may need it."

She nodded and pulled it out. Slowly, they headed upstairs toward the number on the paper.

Standing outside the door, Roy turned to Riza, who was ready with her gun. They nodded and Roy knocked on the door.

When no one answered, he knocked again. The apartment remained silent, so Roy tried the doorknob. The door swung open and Roy entered the apartment hesitantly. Riza stayed as close to him as she could.

A strange smell wafted through the room, causing both of them to feel lightheaded. Scanning the room, Roy's eyes fell onto something in the middle of the room.

A woman's body was sprawled across the floor, her eyes wide open in fear. A snake tattoo was clearly drawn on her ankle.

"Julia Vasperez, I presume?" he sighed, staring down at her.

Riza searched the rest of the apartment. There were several strange items scattered in various spots. There was even a bucket of what looked like blood. Riza cringed.

"What do you suppose she was up to in here?" she asked as Roy appeared at her side.

He looked down at the bucket and the items near it. Sudden scenes from his past flashed before his eyes. He became uneasy and backed away slowly.

"A taboo..." he muttered.

She didn't turn to look at him. "What?"

"Forbidden Alchemy..." Roy shook his head. Without warning, he turned and hurried into the hallway, leaving Riza behind.

Riza, realizing he was no longer with her, followed him out of the apartment. She spotted him leaning with his forehead pressed against the wall. She approached him cautiously.

"Sir?" she said hesitantly. "Sir?"

She placed a hand on his arm and tried to look into his face. His eyes were closed.

"Roy..." she spoke his name softly. "Are you okay?"

"You have to be insane to try and perform a taboo..." he told her, still not opening his eyes. "Absolutely insane."

Riza didn't know what to say. She had only rarely heard of taboos and didn't know why it affected him so much.

"Are you going to be okay, sir?" she asked.

He lifted his head and turned to look at her. His dark eyes stared at her, softening a bit. She breathed deeply, waiting for his response.

"I'm fine, Lieutenant..." he said.

"I think it would be best if we went back to headquarters," Riza suggested. "We can alert the Führer and maybe do some research on why people would perform a taboo."

Roy's face hardened at the word 'taboo' and Riza caught herself.

"Besides," she said quickly. "You still have a lot of work to do, sir."

Roy nodded and Riza closed the apartment door. For once, they didn't feel at a complete loss. They knew that whoever was behind the murders was also involved in taboos and was also starting to destruct from within.

They were starting to kill their own kind...

XXXXX

"Seventeen of us..." a middle aged man spoke to a small group of people. "Even less. Three dead and four or five not willing to betray..." he nodded his head in another direction.

"That makes twelve," a woman with frosty eyes said. "That's still more of us than there are of them."

"Could we really risk it?" a younger blonde male asked. "I mean, they're very powerful and we're limited to the Alchemy that's been bestowed on us. They'll obviously be able to block it."

The group fell quiet and a few of them mumbled to each other. The first man spoke up again.

"Either way, we're going to die. In my opinion, I think we have a better chance of survival this way," he said. "Did you honestly think that we would still be needed after we had the stone?"

"But, the M-" an older woman started.

"That doesn't matter anymore!" the man cut her off. "We have to do something! Julia is dead! She didn't even do anything! Who's to say that we aren't next? It's not worth it anymore!"

The rest of the group murmured their agreement. Word of their companion's death had shaken them up. When it was said that they were going to kill anyone who got in the way, they weren't aware that it included themselves.

"And the Alchemists? The ones out looking for us," another said. "What are we going to do about them? Will we turn ourselves in?"

"No!" an aging man insisted. His voice was sharp and raspy. "Then a mutiny would be pointless! We'd be signing our own death warrants if we turned ourselves over to the Military!"

"We'll keep silent," the first man said firmly. "If the murders stop and they have no more evidence, they will stop bothering. They'll move on and forget all about it."

"Are you sure?" the blonde boy asked. "How do you know that?"

"I just know!" he shot back. "It always works out that way! Do you think the military has been able to solve every murder that's ever been committed?"

No one answered. He looked around at each of them. They avoided his gaze and stared instead at the floor. He nodded curtly knowing that they weren't going to speak against him.

"So it's decided then?" the white-eyed woman asked, finding her voice.

The man nodded. "It's decided. We attack tonight!"

XXXXX

By morning light, the rebellion had ended and the Leader still sat on the throne. Kneeling before it, were the five survivors, none of which, had attended the meeting.

**A/N:** All right. That's the end. To be completely honest, I have no idea when I'll be able to update next. I have a bunch of work to finish before school starts up again and I'm working now. (I got the job! ) I'll definitely keep working on the story whenever I have time, so please keep an eye out for updates! Thank you so much to my loyal fans and everyone who's read this far! I hope you will continue reading!


	9. Jealous Actions RH

**DISCLAIMER:** -spokesperson clears his throat- M.C.E.Black is currently resting, but would like to remind you that she does not own Full Metal Alchemist or any of it's characters. She would like to give all credit to Hiromu Arakawa.

**A/N:** Hey everyone! So sorry for the lack of update! I have been working a LOT lately and barely have any time for anything else. I am only working a few hours a couple days this week so I will update as soon as I can. Just bear with me here! (And I'm also starting to work more on my other fic now that someone seems somewhat interested in it.) Anyways, this chapter is a bit long...oh and it switches back and forth from Riza's POV to Roy's later on and back and forth. You'll know when that happens though. Anyways, enjoy.

**Chapter 9: Jealous Actions. RH.**

Research, research, and more research. It seemed like I had done nothing but scour every book in the library for three days straight! And where was the Colonel during all this?

Only God knew.

"Falman, shouldn't you know something about this?" Breda asked, looking at Falman desperately.

Falman sighed. "All I know is what I've already told you."

The boys were gathered in the middle of the room. I hung back in a corner. I had managed to find a book entirely on taboo Alchemy. It was very complicated and from the sounds of it, very dangerous.

_Why was Roy so affected by this? It was almost as if he..._

My eyes grew wide as I realized what had been going on. Roy had attempted a taboo! If he hadn't, then he had certainly thought about it. Something like this would certainly stick with you for years. I wondered if anyone knew about it. If he couldn't _me_, then who could he tell?

_Hughes..._

I tore from the room toward the nearest phone. Hughes had gone back to Central to work on another case.

"Hello?" his voice sounded on the other end.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," I said quickly. "This is Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Lieutenant Hawkeye!" he said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

"Hughes," I said, dropping my voice. "I need to ask you some questions about the Colonel."

Hughes laughed. "And what is that, Lieutenant?"

I was serious. This had nothing to do with Roy and I and our relationship...or lack thereof.

"What do you know about taboos?"

The other end went silent. I wondered for a moment if our connection had been severed, but then he spoke, barely above a whisper.

"It's not safe to talk about this here," he said. "We need to get together somehow. Face to face. I'll come out there as soon as I can."

I didn't see that as necessary, but before I could protest, he had hung up the phone and the line went dead.

Frowning, I went back to the room. It had been obvious they weren't doing anything. As I walked in, they snatched up the books nearest them and began to pretend to read what was on the pages. Fuery was actually staring at an upside down atlas.

"Isn't this the Colonel's case?" Breda spoke up. "Why isn't he helping us?"

"Because he's the Colonel..." Havoc replied, not bothering to make it look like he was busy.

"I would watch what you say..." I said warningly. I turned so my gun was quite visible. They shut up rather quickly, but Havoc smirked.

"He's probably getting read for that top secret date tonight..." he said slowly.

My head snapped in Havoc's direction. "Date?" I asked.

"Yeah, the one he couldn't tell us about," he continued. "Or rather, _wouldn't_ tell us about. Do you know anything about this date, Hawkeye?"

I felt like my heart had just fallen past my toes and through the floor. I didn't know anything about this date of his. Clearly, the others thought I was somehow involved. They couldn't have been more wrong.

Unless...

Unless he was going to surprise me! Maybe the others _did _know something and were just trying to give me a hint. That would certainly be wonderful...but so unlike Roy. I looked away from Havoc and crossed the room.

"I don't know anything about it," I told them honestly.

I could see Havoc's reflection in the window. He looked stunned. Frowning, he puffed on his cigarette and turned back to the book in front of him.

They didn't know anything. Something told me I wasn't going to be able to focus much more on research. Standing before the window, I stared out across the headquarters. For some reason, I couldn't seem to get that stupid Colonel out of my head.

XXXXX

"Thank you for meeting with me, Lieutenant," I said quietly and Hughes as we entered a small empty conference room.

Leaning against a table, he crossed his arms and stared at me. "So, why are you so interested in taboos?"

I breathed deeply and made sure the door was closed firmly behind us. "Has Roy ever attempted one?"

He didn't answer me quickly. When I turned around, he was frowning, but there was a strange glint in his eyes. It was as if he was torn between two different emotions.

"No..." he said finally.

"Has he ever been involved in one?" I asked. "Has he ever even thought about doing one?"

His eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at me. I was starting to wonder if he was going to be completely honest when he answered.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," he sighed. "I think there's something you should know about Roy. He..." he paused and stared at the ground. "He's a lot more sensitive than he looks and it was a hard war..."

I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. He fell quiet and I knew he was trying to figure out how to word what he was going to say.

"He's got all these idealistic plans," he said. "I mean, you've heard him. He thinks he can change the world and he needs reminding that he's only human."

"You don't think he'll ever become Führer?" I asked curiously.

"Of course I do," he answered quickly. "He'd do anything to get there. We both know that. He's just not very rational when it comes down to it."

I nodded. I couldn't help but agree that many of the Colonel's quick decisions were rather rash and dangerous.

"He thought he could bring them back..." Hughes said. "He thought he could change everything. Take back everything he ever did..."

I had heard Roy speak of the war on several occasions, but it was only in small segments. A lot of people died, several at his hand and the thought of them was always nagging at the back of his mind. Sometimes in the office, when conversation had completely died, he would bring them up and I would just listen. I assumed it was nice to get some things off his chest.

"The only way he could do that was a-" Hughes started.

"Taboo," I finished.

He nodded. "He insisted he never actually did it and I believe him. He was a complete wreck when I first confronted him about the taboo." Hughes looked up at me seriously. "Did he ever tell you that he tried to kill himself?"

I felt my knees go weak. Roy had done...WHAT! I had heard a lot and seen a lot, but nothing had ever made my heart beat as fast as it was at that moment. If he had only...If he hadn't changed his mind, he...he wouldn't be...

Hughes must have noticed that I was deeply bothered by what he had said, because he stood up and took my arm.

"I wouldn't mention it to him if I were you..." he whispered. "But I thought it was something you ought to know..."

I nodded, still staring at the table leg. It took me a few moments to realize that Hughes had left. Finding it difficult to move, I slid down into the nearest chair. It felt like my throat had closed up and a minute later, tears began to stream down my face.

It wasn't until later that afternoon that I actually left the office. I made sure no one was around when I headed toward the bathroom. All traces of sadness needed to be erased before I returned to work.

XXXXX

Why I returned to the restaurant that night was beyond me, but I didn't feel much like staying home. I took Black Hayate for a walk and then headed right out. Though I didn't drink, I sat at the bar with the older men. As they talked about their own heartaches, I felt like I could fit right in.

"...but she never called me back..." a graying old man said.

I nodded slowly and the bartender brought me over a glass of a brownish liquid.

"It's on the house, Miss..." he said gruffly.

"Thanks..." I murmured.

I had definitely hit an all time low. I downed the drink and gasped for breath. It was terrible, but it cleared my mind, at least for a short period of time.

Without warning, I heard someone giggle loudly behind me. I refused to turn around, but that didn't stop me from listening in.

"Oh Colonel!" a young woman giggled. "You are so adorable!"

_I know that voice...where have I heard that voice before..._

"Why do you wear these silly looking gloves?" she asked. "And what is this funny little symbol for?"

"Oh, it's a family crest..." a man's voice answered.

I froze. I _definitely_ knew that voice. Unable to help myself, I swirled around on the stool and scanned the room for the source of the voice. I noticed the pair sitting in the exact spot Roy and I had sat at during our dinner.

Roy Mustang sat at the table accompanied by none other than that Regina woman from the magic shop. That hot surge of jealousy swept over me again as she leaned over the table and caressed his hand. He was smiling, which made me even angrier. When he took a drink, she adjusted her skirt so more of her leg was exposed.

_Who the Hell did she think she was?_

I knew my gun was hidden in my purse, but I couldn't shoot her. (If I could, I would have in a heartbeat.) Despite how much I wanted to, I couldn't force myself to look away.

------------------------RM

"What's it like being in the military?" Regina asked, batting her eyelashes again. It was starting to get on my nerves. "I mean, I've never really been interested in it before now, but if there are people like you, it must be really _fascinating_..."

I forced a smile and nodded, reminding myself that I was only doing this because she helped us out.

"How many Alchemists do you know?" she continued. "I don't really know much about Alchemy. That's my grandmother's area of expertise. I don't really care for it that much. I just...you know, run the counter and stuff..."

"Yeah..." I said absently.

_Is she ever going to shut up?_

I glanced around the room, wondering how much longer it would be until I could take her home and have this whole thing be over with. My mind kept wandering too...

I scanned the bar for the man who had been in there before. He might have been a regular, but then again, he might have been kicked out since the last incident. I was actually surprised they let _me _back in.

I froze. No, it couldn't be. Staring back at me, were the brown eyes that had penetrated so many of my dreams lately. But I wouldn't believe. She couldn't be here.

_Not right now!_

"Is something wrong?" Regina asked, looking at me curiously.

I focused back on her quickly and shook my head. "No. Nothing. I just thought I saw-"

Before I could finish my sentence, she had turned around to look in the direction I had. She didn't turn back around for a while. When she did, she looked confused.

"Who did you see?"

"No one. I thought it was a friend of mine. He comes here often," I lied. "But it wasn't him."

------------------------RH

_Oh no! He didn't see me, did he?_

I panicked and tried to focus on something across the restaurant. I would keep my cool as best as I could. I wasn't going to let something like this get to me. I couldn't!

"Oh Colonel, come dance with me..." I heard Regina say.

I rolled my eyes. How could he stand someone like that? She was completely wrong for him! (Not to mention she was probably 10 years younger than him...)

"Can I get you anything, Miss?" the bartender asked, appearing in front of me. "You sure look like you could use a pick-me-up..."

I shook my head and waved my hand. "No thanks..."

He nodded and headed back toward the old men at the end.

"No, please, Regina," Roy said. "I really don't know how..."

"But please!" she whined.

"No, I'd rather not..." he insisted.

I couldn't help but smile. He _didn't _like her, did he? I heard them argue for a while, but finally he gave in and I watched them out of the corner of my eye as they moved toward the dance floor. Regina immediately threw her arms around him, pulling him as close to her as possible. They began to dance slowly and I had decided that I'd had enough.

_Fine. If that's the way it's going to be, then two can play at that game!_

I slid off the barstool carefully and moved a few seats down, sitting next to a young man with long brown hair. It was pulled back into a very loose ponytail and some of it hung around his face. A strange tattoo was drawn on his shoulder, but I couldn't see it well from where I was sitting.

"Can I get you something, Sir?" the bartender asked the man next to me.

"Scotch, please..." he answered. His voice was smooth and had a dangerous edge. This could turn out better than I had thought.

The bartender nodded and returned with a small glass. Before he could return to his usual spot, I spoke up.

"I'll have the same!"

The bartender brought me over an identical glass and the man next to me stared. I glanced at him, slowly bringing the glass to my lips.

"What?" I asked, not drinking from it.

"You don't look like the type that would drink Scotch," he answered.

I shrugged and downed the glass. Coughing, I tried to regain my breath, though it felt like my throat was on fire. The man laughed at me.

"Can we get a glass of water?" he said, calling to the bartender.

He pushed the glass of water toward me when it arrived and I sipped from it gratefully. When I could finally breathe again, I turned to him.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"You're welcome," he replied. "I'm Striker, by the way..." He held out his hand.

I shook it. "Riza," I said simply. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise..." he said, not bothering to drink from his own glass.

"Striker, eh?" I began. "How'd you get a name like that?"

He chuckled lightly and looked down at the counter. "Ah, well...it's a long story," he said. "In short, it's my nickname. A couple of my buddies gave it to me. It's kind of embarrassing..."

I laughed, "No. It's fine. It's a nice nickname."

"Is Riza short for anything?" he asked interestedly. "Or is it some sort of neat nickname like mine?"

"Elizabeth," I answered, nodding shortly. "My Father used to call me Riza. It sort of stuck."

------------------------RM

I was glad that we didn't dance very long, but by the time I sat back down, I noticed that Riza had moved. She was now sitting over by another man and she seemed to be having a great time, which was more than I could say. Frowning a bit, I wondered if she had moved on.

Regina began talking again, but I wasn't paying any attention this time. I was focusing on Riza's back over Regina's left shoulder. She kept laughing and I wondered what she and her little friend were talking about. For all I knew, she might have been making fun of me. I would probably deserve it.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Regina's voice interrupted my train of thought.

"What?" I asked.

"I asked if you wanted to get out of here," she repeated. "You know, go somewhere. Maybe go for a walk in the park or something..."

I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and see what was going on with the mystery man, but the sooner I left, the sooner I'd be rid of Regina. I was torn between the two.

Finally, I nodded. "Sure."

I could always talk to Hawkeye in the morning if I needed to.

_There, I'm calling her Hawkeye again. First it was Riza and now I'm back to Hawkeye. What is going on with me?_

We stood and she nearly dragged me out of the restaurant. As we passed Hawkeye, I was certain I saw her look up at me, but before I could get a better look, I was swept out the door.

We began to walk down the street, but it didn't seem like Regina had even thought about not talking. Her mouth was still going a mile a minute and I had to shove my hand in my pocket to stop me from zapping her. My other hand, unfortunately, was grasped tightly in hers.

"Regina," I said slowly. "I think I'm going to take you home."

"What?" she looked insulted.

"I have a busy day tomorrow, and I've been up for several nights now..." I explained. I wasn't even lying. I couldn't remember the last time I had gotten a good night's sleep.

She frowned, but nodded. "All right then..."

As she swung our hands in a bored kind of fashion, I could have sworn I saw something tattooed on her wrist.

------------------------RH

"It's getting late," I said, after we had talked for a couple minutes. "I-I should probably head home. I have a dog waiting for me and he's probably torn the place apart."

"Married, eh?" Striker said, smiling widely.

I laughed and shook my head. "No! Definitely not."

"Well, maybe I should walk you home then," he offered. "I'm thinking of getting out of here as well. Why don't I take you?"

I shifted uncomfortably. I had only intended to talk to this man until Roy had left and Roy had left several minutes ago. I didn't see any harm in letting him walk me home though. Besides, I was armed.

"All right," I said.

We left together, still talking about everything that came to mind. I couldn't seem to stop laughing. He was truly a genuine kind man. You didn't meet many like him, especially at a bar.

"Here, go this way," he said, pointing down an alley. "I know a short cut..."

Not thinking, I headed down the alley. It became eerily quiet and our footsteps seemed to echo off the walls. I started to get goose bumps.

"It's just right this way, First Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said.

His voice sounded distant and I stopped suddenly. Something didn't seem right. He was no longer standing next to me, but that wasn't what was bothering me.

"I don't believe I told you my last name..." I said slowly, turning around to face him. "Or that I work for the-"

Before I had turned completely around, I felt his hand close around my wrist and I was shoved against the wall, smacking my head against the hard brick.

------------------------RM

"What's that?" I asked abruptly.

"What's what?" she asked, confused.

I let go of her hand, but caught her by the wrist instead. I felt her squirm as I looked at the tattoo on the underside of her hand. It was a small twisted snake. My grip on her tightened angrily.

"Did you think I was going to be _that_ stupid?" I asked, pulling my other hang out of my pocket. "Did you think I was actually going to fall for your little act? You knew too much for your own good!"

I was never short with women, but when someone pissed me off and was threatening my life, I had the option to use force.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, horrified. "Let go of me!"

"You and Julia and all the others. You were all in it together!" I continued. "Was I next? Was all of this set up so you could kill me next? Well I've got news for you-"

"COLONEL!" she yelled. "I don't know what you're talking about! It's just a tattoo!"

Her eyes welled up with tears and I felt myself let go of her. She stumbled back at me and stared at me in terror. I had the sudden feeling that I had been completely wrong.

The tattoo on Julia's ankle had been different. It wasn't like the one on Regina's hand at all. I had been too quick to jump to conclusions, but I had definitely seen Julia's tattoo somewhere else that night. I just couldn't place where...

Riza's laugh echoed through my mind and I thought my heart had stopped. Without bothering to say anything more to Regina, I took off in the other direction, searching desperately down every alleyway and street I could find.

I only hoped I wasn't too late...

------------------------RH

He pinned me against the wall, grinning broadly. It felt like the circulation was being cut off in my hands. I felt them go numb. My purse fell to the ground. Thinking quickly, I kneed him in the stomach, causing him to keel over.

I dodged under his arm and reached for my purse, but he kicked it well out of my reach. Now only on my hands and knees I tried to crawl over to get it. I could hear him advancing on me.

"Don't even try to get away Lieutenant," he said. "I've got special orders to do away with you."

He grabbed my side, causing me to turn over. I closed my eyes and kicked. I heard him groan loudly and he staggered backward. I didn't have the time to look back at him as I scrambled forward, groping around for the handle to my purse. My eyesight was impaired from being thrown against the wall.

I felt the strap and pulled it closer to me. Striker was regaining his strength and was moving toward me. I could hear him. I dragged my purse under me and dug through it for my gun. I felt the cold metal in my hand and didn't bother to think twice.

Lying on my back, I pulled the trigger over and over, showing no signs of letting up. The gunshots seemed to be so faraway, as my hand grew limp and everything faded to black.

**A/N:** Dun dun dun-aaaaaaaaa! -suspense- Lol. Anyways, like I said. I'll update AQAP! (As Quick As Possible!) But it's going to get even harder for me. So, please do your part and be patient and REVIEW! I absolutely love hearing from all of you. I do read EVERY SINGLE ONE of my reviews! So it's never looked over or cast aside. If I don't write back to you, just know that I was probably too busy at the moment and I will try to get to you as soon as I can. Thanks again! And please keep reading!


	10. Troubled G

**DISCLAIMER:** -spokesperson reads a scrawled note on a Tim Horton's napkin- "Hiromu Arakawa owns FMA. Not me." I think there's a little frowny face drawn next to it too...there might be a tear...or a coffee stain...

**A/N:** OKAY OKAY! I GET IT! No more cliffhangers! That's why I posted so soon again. (I really hope you don't consider this ending a cliffhanger.) Uhm, don't hate me for some of the stuff that happens in this chapter. It's kind of a tease, I know...but trust me, what will happen, will happen, okay! (And let me remind you this IS a RoyxRiza fic!) Anyways, I hope you're happy. I wrote this just five minutes ago, even after I had to work all morning (it was supposed to be my day off...but I got called in.) My friend kept threatening to send me really graphic H/D scenes from other fics too, if I didn't post this afternoon...so that caused me to write faster. I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 10: Troubled. G.**

Black Hayate didn't bark when someone knocked on the door. Nor did he bark when that someone entered the apartment and approached Riza's bedroom. The two of them stood in the doorway, gazing at the tangled mass of blankets that was Riza Hawkeye.

"Good morning, Lieutenant," the intruder said, sounding a bit relieved.

"Mm...Good morning, Colonel..." Riza's muffled voice emitted from the sheets.

He smirked and she suddenly shot up in bed, staring straight at him. She held the blankets tightly to her body. A large bruise was forming just above her right eye.

"Colonel! What are you doing here?" she yelped.

He frowned and walked across her room. "You didn't show up at work this morning and when you didn't answer your phone, I -_we_- panicked. I came to see if you were okay."

"Oh..." she said. "What time is it?" She held a hand to her forehead and cringed in pain.

Roy turned to her, still frowning. "Actually, it's two in the afternoon." He stared for a moment, eyeing the blanket suspiciously. "Are you naked under there?"

"Colonel!" she said, turning red.

"I'm kidding," he said quickly, though if anyone had known Roy Mustang for more than 2 minutes, they'd know he wasn't. His disposition turned suddenly serious. "Hawkeye, where were you last night?"

Riza didn't move or say anything. If he _hadn't _seen her at the restaurant, which she was sure he did, she didn't want him to know that she had been there.

"I was out, sir..." she answered vaguely.

Roy sighed. "I need to know your exact whereabouts."

Riza stared at him, unsure of why this was so important to him. Something about him seemed nervous and worried, and yet he sounded entirely professional.

"A man was killed last night, Hawkeye," he continued. "In a back alley. He was shot several times with extreme accuracy."

Riza swallowed hard. She couldn't remember anything after the restaurant. She didn't remember even leaving. Avoiding Roy's gaze, she did her best to try and figure out what had happened.

"Hawkeye, I'm going to need to see your gun," he said, focusing on her. He was frowning and she didn't like it.

Her eyes scanned the room. She had no idea where her gun was. She was only beginning to remember some of the night's events. How much more could he ask of her? And what was he trying to get at?

"I-I don't know where it is, sir," she answered honestly. "Try my purse. It's usually over there." She pointed across the room to a small desk. Her work jacket hung on the back of the chair.

Roy walked over to it and picked up Riza's red handbag. He shuffled through it for a moment and pulled out the small handgun. She watched him carefully as he checked for bullets. Slowly, he looked at her over his shoulder.

"It's empty." he said simply.

Riza didn't know what was going on. "Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even remember coming home last night!"

Roy didn't put her gun back, but walked over toward her. "Hawkeye, this is serious. You have killed an innocent person and there's not much more I can do to protect you from that. The Führer wants to speak to you when we get back to headquarters."

Riza's hands began to shake. What was going to happen to her? Suddenly, as worry took hold, everything seemed to come flooding back. Visions of the night before flashed before her eyes like a silent film.

A sob was caught in her throat as she tried to regain focus. "He wasn't innocent..." she muttered, staring wide-eyed at the floor.

"What?" Roy asked, jumping lightly at the sound of her voice.

"He wasn't innocent, Roy..." she said. "He-He tried to kill me. H-He said that he had direct orders to..."

Roy's eyes relaxed and he moved closer to her bed. "I know..."

She looked up at him. "You know?"

He nodded. "Last night, I realized something was wrong. I saw you at the bar and saw the man you were with. He had the same tattoo that that Vasperez girl had. As soon as I noticed that, I went off to find you. I had to make sure nothing had happened." he took a deep breath and continued talking, his voice a bit hushed. "I didn't know what I'd do if I found you d..." he couldn't seem to find the strength to finish his sentence.

Riza stared at him, feeling her eyes grow wet. "I guess I made some pretty stupid decisions."

He sat down next to her and smirked. "Yep." he said bluntly, nodding shortly. She glanced at him and he laughed. "But then again, we all do."

Riza smiled weakly, but it faded quickly. As she thought about what she would have to face later, a strange emotion swept over her, causing her to lose control of her tears. Roy took her into his arms and held her tightly. She clung to the front of his jacket.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked.

"I don't know," he answered, rocking her slowly. He breathed in the smell of her hair as it brushed against his nose. He loved that smell. "But no matter what, I'm going to defend you. No matter what, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

Roy didn't let her go. He held her even tighter as she began to cry into his shoulder, causing the blankets to fall away, proving to Roy that she was fully clothed. They remained together until the moment when they decided it was best they didn't keep the Führer waiting much longer.

XXXXX

Later that afternoon, Roy and Riza were alone in Roy's office. They had successfully cleared Riza of all charges, by explaining that the man she had killed was involved in the murder case they had been working on. It had been odd how quickly he had believed them.

"So, that's three down..." Roy said slowly. "Ed said there were nearly twenty of them."

Riza nodded. "Yes. But there may be more that we don't know about."

"Or less," Roy pointed out. "They've already killed one of their own. Who's to say they won't do it again? This leader of theirs might be planning on finishing this alone."

"True..." Riza agreed, sitting on the edge of Roy's desk.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment and she moved away. It was strange how they had been acting toward each other since they'd returned to headquarters. All formalities had been dropped and they always seemed to be together. They were usually inseparable, but now it was even more obvious.

"Did you enjoy your date last night, Colonel?" she asked in a slightly bitter tone, calling him "Colonel" for the first time since that morning.

Roy watched her as she made her way over to the bookshelf. She ran a finger along the spines of several books, not really looking for one in particular.

"Not really," he answered, staring at her back.

Riza froze and turned her head slightly.

"She's not my type," he explained, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. "And besides, how old is she? Nineteen? She's almost as young as the kid..."

Riza smiled to herself and Roy peeked at her out of one eye. Her back was still turned to him.

"Yep..." he said slowly. "Guess I'm going to be a bachelor for the rest of my life."

Finally, she turned around and smirked at him. "Oh, you poor thing, you..."

He chuckled and returned to his usual sitting position. Riza sauntered over to his desk and picked up the paper in front of him, looking it over, not really interested in what it said.

Roy stood and read it over her shoulder. It was some report for something Havoc had looked into. Riza felt her heart race as he placed his hands on her shoulders. She started to look back at him and he turned her around slowly.

Staring into his stony dark eyes, she saw what she wanted. _Everything_ she ever wanted. Ever since she met him as a kid, she knew there was something about the man before her that was different. She saw him in a different way than any other man she ever met. When he had left for the war, she never thought she'd see him again.

But then, by some strange force, Riza liked to think of it as fate, she met up with him again. She had saved him and Hughes from an Ishbalan ambush attack. They began talking again and rarely were seen apart ever again.

Roy brushed Riza's bangs out of her eyes and smiled. She blinked very slowly, wondering how long they were going to stay that close. She wasn't complaining, but it was becoming increasingly more awkward.

Riza's eyes fluttered shut and Roy's face moved toward hers. Before anything could happen, there was a knock at the door. Riza's eyes popped open and the two of them swore under their breath and glared at the door.

A moment later, Havoc entered and the pair broke apart hastily. Riza tried to busy herself with the file and Roy cleared his throat. Havoc eyed them curiously.

"Sorry to interrupt the little love-fest..." he said furtively. "But the Führer's on the phone. He wants to speak to you, chief."

Roy nodded. "Thank you, Havoc."

Havoc smiled devilishly and nodded toward Riza. He winked and Roy shot him a dangerous look. He left before Roy could possibly hit him with a fireball or something.

Sitting back down at his desk, he picked up the phone. "Hello, sir..."

As his voice trailed off, Riza crossed the room, placing the file down on a chair. With one last glance back at an irritated looking Roy, she left the room and decided it was time she checked on the Elrics. It had been a while since she'd seen them.

XXXXX

"Is that so, my dear friend?" the drawling voice said.

"Yes, my liege..." a red-haired woman knelt before the throne of her leader. "I've checked it with everyone I thought would know about it. They all agree."

"Hmm..." the leader thought for a moment. "That certainly does change things, now doesn't it?"

"Yes it does," the woman said, nodding. "It changes them greatly. We have a new goal now. The rest of us believe that-"

"SILENCE!" the leader's harsh voice cut through her sentence. "The goal has not changed. Ve are still going to kill them. All of them. Except her. She vas going to be important already, but now she truly shows her vorth. I am liking vat I am hearing."

"But, my liege, we-" the woman butted in.

The leader held up a hand. "No! You vill do as I say."

"But-" the woman continued.

"Do you dare disobey me?" the leader's voice rose.

The woman bowed her head quickly, "No, no, no! Not at all, oh great one. I would never disobey you. You are too powerful, too dangerous, too-"

"You fear me?" the voice asked.

"Oh yes..." the woman said. "We all do. You are the most powerful of them all. No Military Alchemist would stand a chance against you."

"This, I know..." the voice said. "And you haff more than good reason to fear me. I plan to kill all of you vonce this is over. Vonce I am done, vonce all the Alchemists are gone, I vill be all powerful. No vone vill be able to stop me."

"Yes, my liege..." she said softly. "We all know this. We understand. What must be done, must be done."

"Everything is almost finished..." the leader said after a moment of silence. "Ve just need vone more piece, then it vill all fall into place, nicely..."

The woman stared up at her leader, awaiting orders.

"Everything remains as before. Let no Alchemist go free, but now, vhatever you do..." they finished slowly. "Do not kill the First Lieutenant. Ve need her."

**A/N:** Okay, so that's the end of this chapter. It's a bit shorter than some of my other chapters, but hey, I try. I'll update soon...I hope, but I have to work a couple hours tomorrow and I still have to finish a bunch of things for school. So, yeah. REVIEW! Oh and, just for reference, the Elrics will be back in the next chapter. Believe it or not, I'm starting to miss the shrimp (and his awesome braid!)


	11. A Bloodsucking Alchemist? RM

**DISCLAIMER:** -spokesperson is tired of his job and instead holds up a sign- "M.C.E.Black doesn't own FMA or anything related..."...I'm not being paid enough for this...

**A/N:** Okay, I'm just whipping these chapters out there. This chapter is more informative than anything. There will be more action (both Royai and destruction-like) next chapter, I promise. (Trust me, I've been dying to write that.) Well, this chapter's still a bit short, but guess what, to go along with the short chapter, how about a short character? Ed is back! (Haha, I love making fun of Ed. I can too, seeing as I'm the shortest in my family...which is strange since I'm 5' 7") Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 11: A Bloodsucking Alchemist? RM.**

It was becoming increasingly harder to focus on my work and the pile of files on the corner of my desk showed no signs of getting smaller. It seemed like the more I stared at it, the taller it became.

Hawkeye was constantly on my mind. We'd come dangerously close twice now and it would only be a matter of time before we actually-

I shook my head furiously. I had to stop thinking about that. Unfortunately, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to happen. I wanted to hold her in my arms again. I wanted to feel her body next to mine. My eyes closed as my mind started to wander.

My thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the door. I straightened up quickly and cleared my throat, making myself look somewhat busy.

"Come in," I said.

Ed entered my office and I stared at him. It had been a while since I had actually seen him around. The past week had flown by so quickly and so much had happened in so little time.

"Ed..." I acknowledged him slowly. "How can I help you?"

He closed the door and moved toward my desk. "I want to know why I haven't been involved in all the casework lately..."

I had completely forgotten that Ed had any part in this case. He hadn't been to any of our small informational meetings since the attack. Then again, he hadn't bothered to approach us about it either.

"I'm sorry," I said calmly, not looking at him. "We've been very busy lately."

"I noticed," he said bitterly. "Two dead suspects in less than a week? How come you didn't tell me? I had to hear it all from Lieutenant Hawkeye yesterday."

The truth was...I forgot. I was a bit more concerned about other things at the moment than Ed's involvement in some crazy murder case. He shouldn't have been involved in the first place. I had specifically given orders to keep him out of it.

But now he was in, I couldn't tell him to go, because I knew he wouldn't listen to me. He was going to get himself hurt.

"_He thinks he's immortal, that's all. Someone needs to teach him a lesson."_

"_Maybe you should do it, sir..."_

I took a deep breath. This was going to be harder than anyone could imagine. Ed hated me and I knew it. He would probably think I was paid to say this to him or something.

"Ed, I think you need to be careful..." I said slowly.

"Careful?" he scoffed, sitting down in the chair nearest to my desk. "Why are you suddenly worried about me?"

I didn't answer him. I was worried, because I didn't want another death on my conscience. And even though I hated to admit it, the little brat was starting to grow on me.

"Ed, I-" I started.

"Just forget it, okay?" he butt in. "If you guys aren't going to tell me anything, I'll just handle this on my own, like I always do!"

He started to stand up, but I stopped him.

"Ed," I said sharply. "Sit down! I'm not finished."

He sat down and stared at me. There was a strange look in his eye and it looked almost as if he was going to tear me to shreds.

_Ha, I'd like to see him try._

"You haven't been acting very rational lately, Ed..." I told him, sounding like a complete and utter hypocrite. "You seem to think that you can defeat anything, or anyone, you come up against..."

"And...?" Ed asked, eyeing me curiously.

"And..." I fished around for something to say. I should have probably thought this out before speaking to him. I couldn't say "You can't", because then he would go off and try to prove me wrong. (And if he did, that would be incredibly embarrassing.) "There are some things out there, that are bigger than you..." I paused. "Actually, there are several things. Like an ant, for instance."

I could see Ed tense up. His hands began to curl into fists on the arms of the chair. I smirked and congratulated myself on stalling for a little while. However, putting him in an even worse mood would result in making my task a bit harder.

"Listen," I continued. "I'm only looking out for your safety. You need to keep doing your research. This case only ties into the Philosopher's Stone a little bit. You don't have to-"

"A little bit?" He blurted. "Did you even listen to me when I told you about my dream? They wanted the Stone! They wanted it all for themselves and would do anything to get it."

I smiled weakly and he stared back at me. I wanted to tell him that he was the exact same way, but I wanted him to figure that out on his own. It was strange how two people on complete opposite ends of the good and evil spectrum could think so much alike. It always seemed to turn out that way.

A sudden look of realization washed over him and he looked away. I knew that look. I had received it on several occasions when I came out on top of an argument.

"Perhaps you should wait until we have more information," I said coolly. "Once we figure a few more things out, we may well be on our way to finding our murderers."

I knew that he didn't want to wait any longer. If he had any choice in the matter, he would have been out that door and halfway toward the criminal's lair in a heartbeat. Instead, he nodded shortly, not speaking.

"Very well," I concluded. "Now that that's settled. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

He remained silent for a minute. Slowly, he turned to look at me. A devious grin crept across his face. I feared what was coming next.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something..." he said.

"Ask away," I said, immediately regretting it.

"What's going on with you and Lieutenant Hawkeye?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

I froze. Wow did word spread quickly. I made a mental note to tell Maes and Havoc to learn how to keep their mouths shut. I narrowed my eyes and returned the grin.

"I don't know..." I answered softly. "Why don't you tell me what's going on with you and your automail mechanic?"

His cheeks turned red and he avoided looking at me. I chuckled lightly to myself, feeling once again, victorious. It was none of his business what was going on with Riza and I, and I honestly didn't care what was going on between him and that automail mechanic of his, but it certainly got him to shut up, didn't it?

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Why do you all think she's my girlfriend? She's just a friend. That's all."

"Well, then..." I said to him. "Hawkeye is just a friend. That's all."

At least, that's all she was at that point in time. He didn't need to know of our little near misses, nor did he need to know about the strange daydreams I'd been having all morning. (Especially the ones involving miniskirts...)

Hesitantly, Ed stood up. He crossed to the door and left. I smiled, contentedly and turned back to my work. Though my mind had gone back to where it was before Ed had shown up, I had the strangest motivation to actually get my work done.

XXXXX

"Roy, you might want to check this out..." Maes said, arriving in my office later that afternoon. He had been making frequent trips back and forth from Eastern Headquarters to Central almost daily. "It's a report from the doctor that examined all of the victims' bodies."

I took the folder from him and opened it. There were several pages filled with information on the status of each of the bodies from the murders. I didn't see how this was going to be any help. I was certain that the Führer had said that they were all in perfect condition when they died.

"But Maes," I started. "How does this-"

"Read the first paragraph..." he instructed.

"'Victim shows no signs of being strangled, stabbed, shot, or in any way brutally attacked. All vital organs were in perfect working condition at the time of death and show no signs of probable cause of death. However, victim seems to have been drained of all his blood...'" I stopped and looked up at him. His eyebrows were raised as if he thought it were insane as well. "How is this possible?"

"Beats me," he answered. "You're the freak, not me. You're supposed to be the one to explain it all."

"Are you saying you think it was done with Alchemy?" I had never heard of an Alchemist who could drain someone of their blood supply.

He shrugged. "That's what the Führer seems to believe. That's why he sent it over here immediately. He wanted you to look through it to see if you found anything interesting."

The door opened and Hawkeye entered. She didn't notice Hughes at first and smiled lightly. I smiled back, a strange feeling starting in the pit of my stomach.

"What am I missing?" she asked, clearly taking notice of my guest and the file in my hand.

"New evidence," I said, holding up the folder.

"Great," she said. "What have we got?"

"Apparently, all of the victims were drained of their blood at the time of their murder," I told her.

The look on her face was one that I had expected. It was a mixture of confusion and disgust. "How do you know it happened at the time of death, sir?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't, but it was said that none of the bodies had been touched since they had been discovered."

"But before they were discovered...?" she continued.

I knew what she was getting at. It was certainly possible that the victims had been killed in another way and then drained after that, but it was the only lead we had, so I was going with it.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "It has to be someone involved. People don't just go looking around for dead bodies to steal their blood. And if it were someone who wasn't involved in the murder itself, we would hear of more cases like this, which we haven't. Every single one of them has been an Alchemist, or a scientist working with the research of the Philosopher's Stone."

She nodded. "So, are we looking for some kind of Vampire Alchemist?"

"It would appear so," Maes answered. "But what would they need the blood for? And why so much of it?"

I frowned. I knew what they could use it for, but I didn't want to think about it at a time like that. They could bring it up, because I certainly wasn't going to. Hadn't they been doing research on taboos recently?

"At this point," Hawkeye said. "I don't think it's very important 'why' something happened. We just need to stop it before it happens again."

I nodded. "Yes, and now that we have this information, Maes I need you to do some research on Alchemy with blood. Or even Alchemists that deal with blood. I need a list of names. We'll visit every single one of them if we have to."

"But, sir," Hawkeye interrupted. "Do we really have time for all this?"

"We have to make time," I said. "One wrong move can cause more innocent people to die. We can't risk that."

"But, if we wait, they might-" she said.

"Hawkeye," I stared at her. "We can't risk it. You remember what I told you about Alchemists, right?"

She stared back at me and nodded slowly. I tore my gaze from her and looked back at Maes, who had been watching both of us with intense curiosity.

"Did you hear what I said, Maes?"

"Yes, sir," he saluted and left.

The room was silent for a minute. Finally, I decided to speak.

"I spoke with Ed today," I told her.

She glanced up at me. "And?"

"He's not too happy that we've kept him out of the case," I said honestly. "He wants to be involved."

"What did you tell him?" she asked.

I sighed. "I told him that he wasn't always going to be able to beat everything he came up against. Things are much harder than they seem and he _is_ only human." I stopped. "Well, okay I didn't say it in those exact words, but it was something like that."

She smiled. "And did he listen to you?"

I shook my head. "Not a word. I told you he wouldn't."

"I bet he did," she said knowingly. "It may not have seemed like it at the time, but I bet he heard everything you said to him. And even though neither of you would like to admit it, I bet he really took it to heart."

We stared at each other. I thought over what she had said. It sounded good, but that's not how Ed was.

"I have a feeling we're getting close, Hawkeye," I said absently.

She nodded. "I do too."

"We don't have much, but they're closing in," I continued. "I think it's time we had a little surprise attack of our own."

She smiled a little and I could tell she liked that idea. I stood up and filed through the papers on my desk.

"As soon as Maes returns with that information," I said. "We should be ready to close in on them."

"And Edward, sir?" she said, suddenly looking serious.

"I'll leave this up to him," I decided. "If he wants to be involved, I'm not going to stop him. If he wants to fight, more power to him. If he gets hurt, it's no one else's fault but his own. He needs to start taking more responsibility for his reactions."

She moved closer to me and placed her hand on my arm. "I know. I'm worried about him too."

Neither of us spoke as she headed toward the door. When she was gone, I frowned. How could she read me so easily? Was it _that_ obvious I was concerned for the kid?

I stared at the wood of the door for God knows how long, thinking over what she had said.

She really was an incredible woman.

**A/N:** And yet another end to another chapter. Like I always say, REVIEW! I still love hearing from you guys. I hope you're still interested. I'm shooting for a couple more chapters. I think the story itself will have roughly 16 or 17...which is very short for a story written by me. Usually they're much much longer than that. (And usually much more detailed.) But anyways, thanks a lot for reading. I will be updating AQAP, since I have the next couple of days off, but I still have some work to finish. I hope to update by Friday! If I'm not...you can hunt me down or something. -hides under bed- Okay, well...see you then!


	12. A Moment Like This G

**DISCLAIMER:** -has fired spokesperson- Okay, Okay...I guess I'm back. You know the routine. I don't own FMA or any of the related titles and names. I give full credit to Hiromu Arakawa.

**A/N:** Hey there. Okay, so this is the next chapter. (And yes, prolly the one most of you have been waiting for.) It's like totally Royai, so if you don't like mushy lovey-dovey stuff...don't read it. Lol...it's not too bad, but it's definitely romantic-y. So, yeah, I completely blew off my AP Lit assignment today (I only have another week to finish 15 more essays) so I could write this chapter...so...if I fail my first English assignment...let it be on all of your consciences! (lol hehehe I'm kidding.) Anyways, enjoy!

**Chapter 12: A Moment Like This... G.**

"He still won't come out?" Roy asked as Hughes entered his office.

"No," he replied. "He and Al have been in there all day now..."

Roy frowned. The boys had been spending all the time that they could locked up in the Library. He didn't know what the two of them were looking for. They hadn't learned about the doctor reports, so didn't have any real leads.

"Have they found anything?" Roy asked curiously.

"If they have, they didn't tell me," Hughes said. "I assume that they didn't. I'm sure there would have been an outburst if they had..."

Roy nodded. If Ed had found something, he would have run into the office and rubbed it in Roy's face. Then he would take off in the other direction, throwing himself into battle without really thinking the situation through. Roy knew he would. It had happened before. (Well, not the rubbing it in his face part, but the other stuff.)

"Have _you_ found anything?" Roy said, focusing on Hughes.

Hughes shook his head. "Not exactly. I found a record of an old tribe that did rituals similar to Alchemy involving blood, but that's about it." He looked at Roy carefully. "Do you suppose, whoever is behind this will attempt a massive taboo?"

Roy fell silent. He stared at the edge of his desk. Hughes looked down, starting to regret asking the question.

"Yes..." Roy answered quietly.

Hughes didn't speak. He knew he shouldn't bring up such a touchy subject with Roy, but he wanted to see if they'd both been thinking the same thing. Hughes made to leave, but stopped.

"Maybe you should get some rest tonight Roy..." he suggested. "It'll do you some good."

Roy shook his head. "I'm fine," he insisted. "I've just been thinking a lot lately."

"Scary..." Hughes said jokingly.

Roy didn't smile. Hughes turned back to him and stopped in front of his desk, staring down at his friend. He had noticed it too. Roy had become unnaturally quiet lately. It always seemed like something was bothering him and Hughes was quite positive it had nothing to do with a Taboo.

"Is something wrong, Roy?" he asked.

"I don't know..." Roy said, not blinking. "I don't feel like myself anymore, Maes. Something's happening and...I just don't understand it..."

Hughes sat back down. "Remember what I said a while ago?" he said softly. "How you were changing, and you'd probably be the last to notice it?"

Roy stared at him. "Yes..." he said hesitantly.

"Well..." Hughes said, nodding his head slightly. "This is it. You're not the only one who's changing Roy. I've noticed it in someone else as well." He took a deep breath. "And, now, don't take this as me being a pain in the ass okay? I'm just trying to point something out to you..."

Roy dreaded what he was about to hear. Hughes had the nasty habit of being incredibly accurate when it came to noticing things.

"Hawkeye's overall mood has changed," he said. "I've noticed her smiling more. I mean, she's still hard as nails, but they way she looks at you..." he shook his head slowly. "I've never seen her look like that before. And trust me, I _know_ that look..."

"What look?" Roy asked, a bit confused. He had no idea what Hughes was talking about.

"It's the same look Gracia gives me..." he explained. "You know, when things get quiet and I catch her staring at me and she's not even aware of it. It's an amazing look, Roy..."

Roy looked down at his desk, a bit embarrassed. Why hadn't he seen this so called 'look'? Was she doing it when he wasn't looking? Or had he simply been too stubborn to notice it before?

"She's not the only one doing it, though..." Hughes said quietly. "I've caught you doing the same thing a couple times." he stood, this time actually planning on leaving. He chuckled lightly. "Next thing you know, you'll be carrying around pictures of your kids and showing them off to everyone..."

As Hughes headed toward the door, Roy spoke up.

"I can't get her out of my head, Maes..." he confessed. "It's driving me absolutely crazy..."

Hughes looked at him over his shoulder and smiled. "That's not always a bad thing..." he said.

Roy wasn't sure. If he didn't start to focus on his work, he was going to fall even further behind and he'd never be able to complete his goal.

And yet...

For some reason, that didn't seem important to him at the moment. He had the rest of his life to become Führer, but how long would he still have Hawkeye with him?

"You've grown up, Roy Mustang..." Hughes said, noticing the look on Roy's face. "I'm proud of you..."

The door closed behind him and Roy was left to his thoughts. Sighing deeply, he made his decision. He was going to have to do it. He would have to swallow his pride and tell her how he felt.

He only hoped Hughes wasn't wrong about this. He only hoped she truly felt the same way.

XXXXX

Walking around headquarters, he couldn't seem to find Hawkeye anywhere. He wasn't complaining. It gave him time to rehearse what he was going to say. He felt like a complete idiot when he walked past the Elrics' door and heard it open behind him.

"Colonel?" he heard Ed's voice. "Who are you talking to?"

Roy froze and turned around. "No one. Why?"

Al was standing behind Ed and the two of them were staring at him curiously.

"We thought we heard you talking to someone, sir..." Al explained.

"I wasn't," Roy said quickly. "I thought you two were in the Library."

"We were..." Ed started uneasily.

"But we decided to turn in for the night," Al concluded. "Perhaps you should get some sleep too, sir. You look tired."

Roy nodded. "I will. Thank you."

"Colonel!" Lieutenant Ross came running down the hall. "I had only left for a minute, sir, I swear. I didn't-"

"Lieutenant Ross," Roy said calmly. "I don't care. The boys are fine."

She looked at him, stunned. Usually she would get in trouble for leaving her post, but there was something different about the look in the Colonel's eye.

"Have you seen Lieutenant Hawkeye?" he asked, trying to sound calm.

"Yes, sir..." she answered. "She left not too long ago. She said something about not feeling well."

Roy's face fell. "Oh. Thank you, Lieutenant." He turned and started off in the other direction. As he passed the Hospital Wing, several of the nurses waved at him out the window. They all whined as he took no notice of them and continued walking.

"Hmmm..." Ed thought, as the Colonel disappeared. "That's interesting..."

"What is?" Lieutenant Ross asked, looking at Ed.

"Before you showed up," Al said. "We thought we heard the Colonel talking to someone in the hallway. It almost sounded like he was confessing something..."

"And then he asked for Lieutenant Hawkeye..." Ed butt in. "Rumor has it, they've been seeing a lot of each other lately..."

"I heard about that," Ross said, nodding. "Do you suppose he-?"

The boys looked at her and she shook her head.

"Never mind," she said. "It's none of our business. You'd best stay out of it. Now back inside, the both of you."

They sighed and went back into the room. Lieutenant Ross stood outside the door, smiling to herself. She had been rooting for the pair to get together since she'd first met them.

"Do you suppose the Colonel's really in love?" Al asked.

"Who knows?" Ed replied casually, flopping down on the couch. "I'm gonna take a nap..."

"I always wondered if there was something going on between them," Al continued. "I mean, they're awfully close, even if they do work together..."

"She's dedicated her life to protecting the guy," Ed said, closing his eyes. "Stupid idea on her part in my opinion."

"But why do you think she did that?" Al asked. "Why would _anyone _do that?"

"I don't know, Al..." Ed replied, annoyed. He was trying to fall asleep, but Al was making it incredibly difficult.

"Do you think she loves him?" he said, laying down as well and staring at the ceiling.

Ed groaned. He _did _want to know, but frankly he didn't care at that moment. He was tired. He wanted to go to sleep. Why didn't Al ever want to go to sleep? It was getting annoying.

"I think they'd be lovely together," Al said almost dreamily. "Don't you think so, brother?"

"Hmm...sure..." Ed said, drifting off.

Al sat in silence for a while, thinking over everything. He had always wondered about them. Some of the things they would do around each other made things very curious. Al turned his head to look at his brother, whose shirt was halfway up his stomach.

"Ed," he said slowly, starting to feel sleepy himself. "Don't sleep with your stomach out. How many times do I have to..."

Al drifted off to sleep. Ed hadn't heard a word that he'd said, for he had fallen asleep a few minutes before. He snored lightly as the room grew dark.

XXXXX

The next day, the Colonel felt even worse. Despite how many people had been telling him to get some sleep, he found that he couldn't sleep at all. When Hawkeye entered his office first thing in the morning, she showed no signs of being sick at all. He had wondered if he should tell her then, but she left before he could find the perfect opportunity.

Ed and Al were in the library again. Roy had stood outside the door for a while, contemplating whether or not he should go in and help them. Changing his mind, he went back to his office to work on some papers.

He was in the middle of a report when the door opened again. It was getting rather late and he had been wondering when he'd ever get the opportunity. When Hawkeye entered, Roy felt his heart skip a beat. It was now or never.

"Where have you been?" he asked conversationally.

Riza turned to look at him. "I've been trying to find some more information about blood alchemists."

"Oh..." Roy said, nodding slowly.

She looked at him expectantly, but frowned when he didn't say anything and walked across the room toward the book shelf. She returned a few books that were in her hands.

"Hawkeye," he said nervously. "Can I talk to you?"

Her hand paused in mid-air. Her hands were sweating and she was certain that she was going to drop the book if she wasn't careful.

"Of course," she answered, not looking at him.

"Maybe it would be better if you sat down," he said, trying to stall as much as possible.

Riza stayed where she was and Roy knew he wasn't going to get her to move. He breathed deeply and was finding it hard to let out the first word.

"Riza, I-" he started.

Riza breathed slowly as he fished around for something to say.

"Riza," he said. "I have to tell you something. Lately, I haven't been myself. I don't seem to find any women attractive. Any date I go on, I find myself thinking of someone else. I can't sleep at night. I can't-"

"Roy-" she cut in, turning to him slightly.

"No, please, let me finish..." Roy said, walking toward her. "I can't eat. I can't focus on my work. I thought something was wrong with me at first, but I know what it is now."

Riza moved toward him slowly, stopping before him. Her brown eyes bore into his. Suddenly, things seemed to be so much easier. His hand traced the side of her face, wandering back to her hairclip. He released it and her hair tumbled about her face. He smiled weakly.

Riza took his left hand in hers and slowly slid the glove off it. She pressed her hand up against his and stared at them lovingly.

"I think I'm in love with you, Riza..." he said quietly.

Riza glanced back at him. They had come so close so many times, there was no way she was going to let it happen again.

Their fingers became entwined as she brought her lips to his. He responded by kissing her back lightly. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him. As her arms locked around his neck, the kiss became more passionate.

Roy's hands fumbled with the buttons of her jacket. It fell to the ground and his hands roamed the contours of her back. Through the thin material of the undershirt she was wearing, he could feel the raised skin just below her left shoulder. A hot surge of guilt washed over him.

Holding her tightly once again, she felt him lift her off the ground and sit her on his desk, sending several papers onto the floor. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she brought herself as close to him as possible.

His lips left hers and traveled down her neck. Riza ran her fingers through his dark hair. Her eyes were closed and her heart was pounding. If they weren't careful, they were going to go too far.

"Oh, Roy..." she gasped.

He brought his lips back to her mouth and she kissed him greedily. Her mouth opened wider to deepen the kiss. Roy felt like he was on top of the world.

As if it were impossible for them to get a moment alone, the phone rang, interrupting them once again. Roy sighed, annoyed and pulled his mouth from hers. With Riza still clinging to him, he answered it.

"Hello?" he said, trying his best not to sound too breathy.

Riza unbuttoned the front of Roy's jacket and began to kiss his neck. He tried to ignore her, but it was starting to tickle.

"Yes, sir..." Roy said into the phone. "Cut it out, that tickles..." he whispered to her.

Riza stopped and stared at him. She wondered if the person on the other end had any idea what was going on.

"No, sir, I wasn't talking to you..." Roy looked serious. "He what? Yes, sir-"

Riza pulled the phone from Roy's hands. "I'm very sorry, sir, the Colonel's very busy right now. He'll have to call you back."

Without another word, she hung up and kissed him. Roy tried to talk to her between kisses.

"Riza, that...the Führer..." he tried to say.

"I know..." Riza told him, running her hands up his chest.

"H-He said that something..." he continued. "Something's wrong..."

Riza pulled away, this time looking concerned. Roy fixed his breathing and continued telling her what the Führer had had time to tell him.

"He said something about Ed..." Roy said. "I-I think he might be in trouble."

Riza, her eyes as large as hubcaps, let go of him and slipped off of the desk quickly. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the door.

"Call the Führer back," she ordered. "Find out what's going on."

Before he could say anything, she had disappeared out the door and was heading down the hall toward the Library. Throwing the doors open, she called out the boys' names.

"EDWARD?" she yelled. "ALPHONSE?"

There was no reply. Tossing her jacket back on, she raced up and down the aisles of books looking for some sign of the boys. They were nowhere to be found.

"Dammit, Edward..." she cursed, leaving the Library and heading for their room. "You'd better be there..."

Lieutenant Ross was gone again. Riza opened the door and looked around the room. It was completely empty, but the window was open. Panicking, she took off in other direction.

Roy had called the Führer back, but hadn't gotten through to him. He hurried from the room to try and find Riza. Instead, he bumped into Hughes along the way.

"Maes!" he exclaimed. "Have you seen Ed?"

"He's gone missing, Roy," Hughes told him. "I was on my way to tell you. We've already alerted the Führer!"

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Roy asked.

Hughes nodded. "We have an idea. There was a map in his room with a warehouse circled on it. We're to report there immediately."

Roy ordered Hughes to follow him and he continued his search for Riza, who seemed to have disappeared as well. They were running out of time and couldn't run around much longer. They had to find Ed.

He didn't want to fight without Riza. He rarely had to do so, and no matter what, she was always nearby to cover him. He had a feeling this time was going to be different.

The two men raced toward the garage and Roy forced the door open. He came to a sudden stop when he noticed that the car that Riza usually drove was absent from it's spot. Hughes nearly ran into him.

"Damn, Riza..." he swore, searching around for another vehicle.

"What's the matter?" Hughes asked.

Roy continued to stare at the empty spot. "She's gone after him..."

**A/N:** Cliffie? I dunno. I'm no good at pointing out if things are cliffhangers or not. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please REVIEW! My day usually depends on how many reviews I get. The more I get, the happier I am...and the more motivation I have to write. The next update...I dunno...it'll be whenever I have the next chapter finished. I'm not sure how long it's going to be and how I'm going to break up the ending into chapters yet, so it may take me a while to decide that. Please keep reading though! (T'would be a pity to stop now wouldn't it?)


	13. Unveiling A Monster RH

**DISCLAIMER:** -sleepily- I don't own FMA. I give credit to Hiromu Araka- zzzzzzzzzz

**A/N:** I am so unbelievably sorry for the lack of update. I have been super busy lately with work and finishing up my homework and stuff. (They're a bit more important at the moment.) I've been thinking of you guys so much lately and feel super guilty. I wrote this chapter tonight and partially during lunch break at work today, so I hope it's good. I will update as soon as I can.

**Chapter 13: Unveiling A Monster. RH.**

I slammed on the gas pedal. Those boys had a lot of nerve to go off without telling anyone! I couldn't say I was surprised, but I thought at least Alphonse had enough sense. Apparently, I was wrong.

I turned the wheel suddenly, turning down a darkened street. I knew where they were headed. The old building had been closed recently due to problems in the foundation.

Pulling in front of the building, I threw open the door and raced toward the padlocked front door. I lifted myself through a nearby broken window and started off in the closest direction. I couldn't hear anything, which meant that a fight hadn't started...

Or...

Perhaps, it was over. If I walked in to find the remains of a young boy and a lifeless suit of armor, I didn't know what I'd do.

Every footstep echoed, not only off the walls, but in my mind. I moved as quickly and quietly as I could through the tangled mess of hallways. I seemed to be making my way through a labyrinth. Coming to an end, I froze.

A woman stood at the end of the hallways, blocking a door. She sneered at me and I pulled out my guns; something I, shockingly, hadn't done before. I hadn't been concerned with them. I was worried about the boys.

Dodging every single one of my bullets, she laughed. I was starting to wonder what was wrong with me. I had never been so completely out of it before, especially in battle.

"_I think I'm in love with you, Riza..."_

I shook my head.

_No! Not right now! I can't be thinking about Roy while Edward is probably off getting himself killed somewhere..._

"I've got orders to protect this area," she growled. "There's no way a military brat like you is going by!"

Without warning, she put her hands to the ground. I reloaded my guns and felt myself being thrown backward against the wall.

Only slightly stunned, I regained my balance and looked up. A hand encircled my wrist in a deadly grip. Her green eyes sparkled as she squeezed harder. Part of me began to feel weaker. It was a very strange feeling. My fingers fought for the trigger of my gun.

"Let her go," a man's voice said.

An older man had appeared in the once closed doorway. The woman next to me stared at him in horror.

"Do you dare disobey orders?" she barked at him. "We were told to kill-"

"We were told to kill everyone, except her..." he corrected her. "Perhaps you don't know who you're dealing with here..."

He walked toward us slowly, grinning widely. I wondered if the woman was ever going to let go. My hand was starting to turn blue.

"Mikayla Hering," he pointed to the woman. "Please meet First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye."

She dropped my wrist immediately and backed away, looking terrified.

"Are you, really?" she gasped. "Oh, I'm so very, very sorry. Please continue."

I stared at each of them. Something was going on and I wasn't sure if I wanted to figure it out. However, if it got me closer to those boys, I was willing to risk it.

I moved past them and went through the door, which led to a set of stairs. I wasn't sure what would be waiting for me on the second floor, but I was certain that I was about to find out.

------------------------RM

"Roy, do you have any idea how to drive this thing?" Maes asked, starting to look very uncomfortable.

Frankly, I didn't care if I knew how to drive or not. I needed to get to that warehouse. I needed to stop Riza before she went and did something stupid. I would deal with Ed and Al later, once we were safely back at headquarters.

"Roy!" Maes gripped the edge of his seat as I swerved around a few pedestrians. "You're gonna kill someone."

I didn't say anything. It had been a long time since I'd actually driven something, not to mention I had never really been that good at it to begin with. Normally, I was in the passenger seat while Riza drove. Things were different now.

Braking suddenly, I spotted another military car nearby. I knew Riza was somewhere in that building. I didn't bother the close the door behind me as I jumped out of the car. Maes was not far behind me, doing his best to keep up.

The front door was padlocked. I cursed loudly and reached out my hand to blow up the door.

Before I could do it, I heard Maes whistle and I turned to look at him. He was signaling toward a busted window, as if that would be a better plan. I sighed. He always had to do things the hard way.

We scrambled through the window and landed on the other side. The place seemed deserted. I started to wonder if we had the right place. Riza's car was there, but perhaps she had the wrong place too. Perhaps, Fullmetal was trying to throw us off in case we did find out that he was missing.

As we made our way through the halls, I was starting to think it would be better if we split up. But then, if one of us found the others, we would have to find each other again, without any of us getting hurt.

Never mind.

"Where do you think they went?" Maes asked, as we came to the intersection of two halls. I looked down each of them, trying to choose.

There was a loud noise from above and both of us looked up. It sounded like something metal had just fallen.

"Up," I said shortly.

We took off down the nearest hallway and searched desperately for a staircase. If we didn't find one soon, I was going to blow a hole through the ceiling and we were going to get up there that way.

I was only hoping it wouldn't come to that.

------------------------RH

There was a loud clanging noise and I stopped in mid step.

_Alphonse!_

Hurrying up the rest of the steps, I burst through the next door and entered a very large room. My ears were met with the sound of metal hitting something else. It took me a minute, but I spotted Alphonse fighting two people in the corner.

I took careful aim and shot one of them in the shoulder. They cried out in pain and Alphonse turned around to see how the attacker was. He straightened out as he looked right at me.

"First Lieutenant Hawkeye!" he blurted. "What are you-"

"Alphonse!" I yelled, firing several more bullets at the stunned others. "Where is your brother?"

"He's upstairs!" he answered, catching one of them by the arm and throwing them against the wall. His companion was advancing on me, but Alphonse didn't seem to notice. I continued to fire at him.

Moving quickly, I managed to trip my attacker, stopping them only momentarily. Alphonse turned to me.

"Go!" he ordered. "Go find my brother!"

Only pausing for a moment, I stared at him. The man nearest him had stood back up and was starting toward him again. He repeated his order and I took off down the adjoining hall.

Edward was somewhere above me, fighting who-knows-what by himself. I was proving to be quite worthless before. I only hoped I wouldn't screw up again.

------------------------RM

"Maes..." I said slowly. "Go that way..."

I pointed down another hallway. He stared at me for a moment and I repeated myself. He nodded shortly and did as I told him. I stared down at the hall I was going to go down.

My heart was pounding. I didn't want to admit it, but I was nervous. I didn't know how long the boys had been there, or if Riza had even made it to them. What if they were all...

I couldn't think about that now. I had to focus on finding them. Dead or alive, I needed to see them in front of me.

Finally, I found a staircase and hurried up it. I met up with Maes on the next floor. He passed by me and told me that he'd heard the metal noise coming from the other side. I followed him and we found the source of the noise.

Al was now taking on four people. Three men and a woman. One of them was clearly banged up and anther was shot. I knew that wasn't Al's doing.

Maes quickly pulled out a knife and joined in, helping Al. I moved to help, but Al took notice of me.

"COLONEL!" he said. "LIEUTENANT HAWKEYE WENT UPSTAIRS TO FIND ED!"

I froze, looking around at the people in the room. If we assumed there were nearly twenty of them, and there were four here, she would be facing almost 16 people on her own. She couldn't handle that many, especially with two pistols!

Some of them reacted at the word "Colonel" and started toward me, suddenly being thrown backward by Maes or Al.

"Roy!" Maes said through gritted teeth. "Get out of here! Go find Ed and Hawkeye!"

I didn't need to be told twice. I left the room and raced off in search of yet another staircase. I thought I had seen someone in another hallway, but when I stopped to check, they were gone.

"Riza?" I called out, down the empty hall.

There was no answer and I slowly walked down the hall. I called her name a couple more times to see if it had been her. I held my breath as I turned the corner, certain there would be someone there waiting for me.

There wasn't. A bit disappointed with myself, I took off again. Things were getting increasingly harder. If only the place weren't so huge...

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and it sounded like all the doors in the building had shut at once. I stopped and looked around, wondering if I had imagined the whole thing. I reached out for the next door and pushed.

It wouldn't move.

I pushed even harder, throwing all my weight against it. It still wouldn't budge. Giving up, I found another door and tried that one. It wouldn't open either. Somehow, someone had managed to lock every single door in the building, probably with Alchemy.

Cursing, I went in search of a set of stairs, not hidden behind a doorway. If Ed and Riza were upstairs, they were stuck up there, with no way of any of us getting to them.

------------------------RH

I could have sworn that I had heard Roy's voice calling my name, but had shaken it off as my mind playing tricks on me again. It was becoming harder to focus though, wondering if he really had been there and had been looking for me.

I jumped when a loud surge went through the building. Upon inspection, I noticed that all the doors were locked, but it didn't matter. I had reached the top floor, where Edward was, and that was all that I cared about.

It was dark; much darker than the rest of the building. I noticed that all the windows had been covered and very few torches were lit along the walls. There were no hallways on this floor. Just one very large stretch of space and complete darkness.

As hard as I tried, I could not stop the sound my shoes made as I walked across the floor. I had hoped to take whoever was waiting up here by surprise, but it seemed like the area was empty.

I stopped suddenly, when I heard someone speak from the other end of the room. Their voice sounded low and far away.

"It looks like ve are no longer alone, Full Metal one..." the voice said. "I do believe ve may haff some company..."

I saw the reflection of the torches on a metal arm and stepped forward. I was relieved to see Edward standing in front of me, unscathed. But, why had they not touched him. Why had I gotten here so easily? I was very confused.

"Velcome, First Lieutenant..." the voice continued. "I haff been expecting you. I didn't think you vould be here so early though, I must admit..."

I didn't say anything. Edward was staring at me. He looked around, confused. I knew what he was looking for, but he wouldn't find it.

"You seem to be alone..." the voice stated.

"I am alone," I said firmly.

The outline of a large chair could be seen in the shadows. I recognized it immediately as some kind of throne. We were certainly dealing with someone of great power.

Whoever was sitting on the throne laughed and it sent shivers up my spine. Edward didn't move, but continued to stare into the shadows.

"Why don't you show your face?" he asked bitterly.

They laughed again. This time I was certain I had heard a hiss in there somewhere. "Getting ahead of yourself, are ve, Fullmetal?" they asked. "I told you. I do not intend to fight you yet..."

"Lies..." he spat. "You're lying!"

"No, I am not lying. I vant answers first..." they said simply. "Answers only the two of you could really help me vith..."

I narrowed my eyes and tried to focus into the darkness. Whoever was speaking had a very low voice, but there was something about it that struck me odd.

"Why do you think we'd help you?" Edward asked, growing angrier by the second.

"Your temper exceeds your height," they said with a small chuckle. "You might vant to be careful about that, Fullmetal. It might get you into trouble someday."

I could tell that he was about to lose it. He really did need to learn how to control his temper. Especially in a situation such as this, it would be best if they both kept calm. Though, as much as I told myself that, I couldn't stop my heart from racing.

"You really vant to see me, Fullmetal?" they asked.

"Yes," he answered sharply.

"Very vell then..." the voice drawled.

I watched as a shadow moved toward us. They were certainly tall, whoever they were, I could point out that much. I could hear heels click across the stone and my earlier suspicions were confirmed.

Long legs and a black dress made it even more so. We were dealing with a female. A dangerous female.

She would have looked like Lust, if and only if, her hair wasn't red. It was curly and reached down the middle of her back. Her green eyes shone in the torchlight and were speckled with brown. A devilish grin danced across her lips as she watched us carefully. However, that wasn't all.

A large green snake coiled itself around her neck and her arms. It was massive in size, as it's large black eyes were focused and unmoving, as if stalking it's next victim.

He was staring at _me._

**A/N:** Don't bother to say anything. I know this is a cliffhanger, but hey, I'm good at those. I will be updating as soon as I can, because I know you guys are about to kill me! -hides- If you get bored, please check out my other FMA fic (ROYAI!) Midnight Conversations. (It's Rated M, but it's not bad or anything. There will be some implied stuff later on...maybe a little itty bitty bit more than implied, but nothing completely terrible.) So you should definitely check that out. Oh and don't forget to REVIEW both of the stories! I will be updating that one soon too! Thanks!


	14. Alchemical Secret Of A Different Kind G

**DISCLAIMER:** -puts on the most professional voice she can manage- Hello there readers. I do not own the manga/anime Full Metal- -breaks character- Okay, this is ridiculous. I don't own FMA. Do I really have to keep putting this at the beginning of every chapter?

**A/N:** Okay, I'm sorry for the lack of update. Uhm, this isn't a very nice chapter either, I'm just going to warn you right now. While you're reading it, I'm currently moving to Antarctica to live with the penguins in an ice cave you'll never ever find, because I'm pretty sure you're going to kill me. I will update as soon as I can, but school's started so, I'm busy with all that good stuff and yeah. So, please read and enjoy.

**Chapter 14: An Alchemical Secret of A Different Kind. G.**

The snake hissed lightly, still staring at Riza. Her heart rate was now so fast that it hardly felt like it was beating at all. The woman before then stroked the snake's head softly.

"Now, now Fang..." she cooed. "Enough of that. Ve don't vant to frighten her avay now, do ve?" She shook her head. "No, I didn't think so."

Riza stared at them, disgusted. How could she be so affectionate to something so vile? Ed had fallen silent and was watching them with a look of complete shock on his face. She looked up to notice.

"Vhat is the matter, Fullmetal?" she asked. "Am I not vhat you vere expecting?"

He cocked his head to one side, still staring at her. "No, I just...pictured you...a bit more..." he couldn't seem to find the right words.

"Masculine?" she finished for him. She chuckled grimly and moved toward him. "I know. Hiding in the shadows like that, no one really knows vhat they're facing. But do you really think a man could come up vith a plan as foolproof as mine? Do you think a man vould do all the research that I had to do to get vhere I am today? I don't think so."

Ed growled. He knew she wasn't working alone. He knew that her little servants had probably done all the research for her. She really didn't know what she was doing. He was convinced it was all a bluff.

"So what is this master plan of yours?" he asked.

Riza looked at him, taking her eyes off the woman for the first time. He was glaring in the woman's direction, his golden eyes shining.

She paused for a moment and turned to him, smiling. "I suppose I can tell you, since I honestly plan to kill you vonce I am done."

She moved as if she were going to return to her throne, but reconsidered and turned back to Ed and Riza. Fang's tongue flickered in and out of his mouth and his gaze had not focused on anyone other than Riza.

"Perhaps by now you haff discovered vhat I am," she started slowly.

Riza and Ed looked at each other. Neither of them really knew what she was, or what she meant by that question.

"An Alchemist?" Ed ventured.

She smirked and nodded. "Yes, I am an Alchemist. Pretty soon I vill be _the_ Alchemist. Vonce all the Alchemists are gone and I harness their powers, I vill be unstoppable. I haff most of them now, but I am still missing some."

The pair watched her as she began to pace in front of them. She continued with her story.

"You, of course, Fullmetal and that pesky Flame Alchemist. He's been dodging me for years. Not for much longer though," she turned to eye Riza. "I've got the vone thing he cares about most."

Riza felt herself tense up at the mention of Roy. How did she know about them? It had only just happened... The thought of him pained her though. She was determined to, but if she didn't make it out of there alive, she would never be able to see him again. She only hoped the idiot hadn't followed her. She didn't need both of them to get hurt. With the luck she'd been having though, it wasn't likely he'd have stayed behind.

"Elizabeth Hawkeye..." the woman's voice whispered as she moved toward the First Lieutenant. "You haff become the most important person in my life. The key to my success."

Ed's mouth twitched. It was clear that he wanted to say something, but didn't. He waited for the woman to continue.

"I know almost every alchemical secret there is..." she said. "There are only a few, like the Alchemists themselves, that have managed to escape me." She paused to stare at Riza. "Your Father had secrets, didn't he? Secrets he passed down to you, I believe..."

Ed eyed Riza curiously, not sure what this woman was talking about. Riza breathed slowly, finding her voice.

"I don't think I understand..." she said coolly.

Fang's hissing grew louder as the woman circled Riza, her eyes scanning Riza's back with keen interest. When Riza didn't say anything, she felt a hand close on her shoulder. It tightened painfully.

"I think you do..."

Without warning, Ed jumped forward, nicking the side of Fang with his arm. The woman reacted and turned on Ed, moving toward him threateningly. When he charged at her again, Riza moved to aim her gun. Before she could pull the trigger, the woman whipped around once again, this time touching a part of her dress. There was a bright light and both of Riza's guns were sent across the room, firing loudly upon impact. Riza cringed, for the first time, at the sound of her own gun firing.

XXXXX

"Are they dead?" Al asked, looking down at the bodies surrounding him.

Hughes studied the faces of each of them. "Some of them. Some might just be stunned though. I don't intend on sticking around to figure out..." he wiped the blood off one of his knives with the sleeve of his jacket.

Al nodded shortly and followed Hughes as they entered the adjoining hallway. They had felt the shift that had gone through the building and realized that they were trapped on the first floor.

"What should we do?" Al asked, trying his best to force a door open. Despite his massive size and strength, the door wouldn't budge.

"Alchemy?" Hughes suggested simply, staring at the door helplessly.

Al didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was certain that it was done with Alchemy and could possibly be removed with it, but whoever had placed it there was obviously very powerful, and would not be thwarted so easily.

"Where do you suppose Colonel Mustang is?" he asked, looking up and down the nearby hallways.

Hughes shrugged, not looking as concerned as he truly was. "Wherever he is, I'm sure he's fine. Unless, of course, he's doing something stupid, which, unfortunately, is actually very likely..." his voice trailed off.

Al frowned and tried to force the door open again, but to no avail. His eyes traveled to the ceiling where he knew his brother was somewhere above him fighting an invisible villain.

"We should get military backup..." Hughes said absently. "Military backup would be helpful. There's not much else we can do right now.

Al nodded, though he didn't want to leave. He wanted to go after Ed and help him. He didn't like the idea that his brother could be hurt and there was nothing he could really do about it.

Hurrying back outside, the pair hopped into the car that Roy had hastily parked halfway onto the curb. Shaking his head slowly, Hughes took the driver's seat and, pulling a Roy, sped half the way back to Headquarters. Al watched as the building became smaller in the rearview mirror, all the while still feeling extremely guilty.

XXXXX

Roy flung himself down several more hallways, only to find him more lost than he was before. He wondered if Al and Hughes would be able to find him or even get to him if they needed to, but didn't want to worry about that now.

Finally finding a staircase leading to the next floor, he could have sworn he had heard gunshots from the floor above, meaning only one thing.

Riza had found the enemy.

Either that or she found Ed. Either one was a possibility.

He rushed up the stairs, feeling as if he couldn't move fast enough. He threw all his weight against the door at the top, but nothing happened. Knowing that he would have to resist the temptation to use Alchemy as much as possible, he tried to open the door a million different ways, all of them failing horribly.

He fell against the door, pressing his ear against it. He could hear the sound of metal hitting something on the other side. The gunshots had stopped. It was strange that only two had been fired. His eyes widened as he heard a woman's voice, slowly followed by another more familiar one. Riza was on the other side of that door.

Finally, he stepped back, his eyes searching every inch of the door in front of him. He had no choice left. Praying that it wouldn't cause any further trouble, he held his hand out in front of him, bracing himself for the amount of force he was about to use.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

XXXXX

Managing to knock Ed backward, the woman glared in Riza's direction. "You are only digging yourself a deeper grave, Lieutenant! If you vould only cooperate, it vouldn't haff to be like this."

"Never..." she hissed through gritted teeth.

The woman's eyes lit up. "So, you _do_ know something?" she said with a small smile. "You do know the secrets of your Father. They are written on-"

"You can look," Riza shot, her temper reaching it's highest level. "There's nothing left."

"Liar!" the woman growled.

"It's gone!" Riza told her. "We destroyed it. It's burned off."

"Ve?" The woman stared, still holding Ed off with unbelievable strength.

Riza leered at her, "Colonel Roy Mustang and I..."

Angrily, the woman let go of Ed and launched herself toward Riza. The two women fought hand to hand for several long moments. At one point, Riza felt something wrap around her arm. Fang slowly started to make his way toward her shoulder.

Riza tore her arm away, Fang's mouth narrowly missing her elbow. Her other arm, however, was still locked in the woman's grip. Suddenly, a burning sensation traveled under her skin. The woman was touching a small pattern on her dress.

In the new light, Riza could finally see what was going on. Embroidered onto the woman's gown, where thousands of little transmutation circles. Riza looked up at her attacker, stunned.

"You haff discovered my secret?" she smirked. "I thought it vas rather handy to haff all of my circles vith me at all times. Don't you think so, Lieutenant?"

Trying to wrench her arm from the woman's grasp, she didn't answer the question. Another noise had attracted her attention. Someone was thumping against the door. She tried to ignore the sound, but something in the back of her mind kept telling her that it was someone trying to help them.

"Let go of me!" Riza yelled, the pain becoming even more intense.

Fang slid to the floor and started toward Ed. The woman whipped Riza around, locking one of her arms around her neck. Her other hand roamed Riza's back.

"Are you sure I'm not going to find anything here?" she whispered into Riza's ear.

Riza's body trembled. She felt the back of her jacket being lifted. The woman's eyes shined in the torchlight as she caught sight of the bottom of an intricate tattoo.

A loud hissing noise interrupted them and the woman looked up to see Fang scattered all over the floor. Ed was standing in the middle of the snake remains, grinning evilly at the woman. In an attempt to save Riza, Ed, now with his bladed arm, threw himself toward the woman, catching her off guard.

She pushed Riza to the side and went after the pint-sized Alchemist, performing different alchemical surprises every chance she could get. It was a wonder how Ed managed to dodge so many of them.

Scrambling across the floor, Riza searched for her lost guns. Most of the ground was dark and they had been cast into the shadowy part of the room.

She saw one of them shine momentarily as a torch was thrown across the room. Her hand closed around the cold metal and she brought herself to her feet. The woman turned around for simply a moment, catching sight of Riza.

"Ah, ah, ah!" she said tauntingly.

At the precise same moment, two things happened. There was a loud explosion and the door was busted open in a burst of flames. Roy entered the room, as quick as possible, shielding himself from the flames that remained.

He looked up just in time to see the woman touch a circle on her arm. As if it were happening in slow motion, Roy watched as Riza was thrown backward across the room, making contact with the wall and landing in a heap on the floor.

Watching in horror, Roy stared at her, waiting for her to get back up again.

"Riza?" he said almost breathlessly. He was certain that his heart had stopped.

The motionless body remained so. Ed attacked the woman while her back was turned, but Roy hardly took any notice. Slowly, he started to move toward Riza's body, picking up the pace. Her pale face was coming closer and closer.

"Riza?" his voice rose in anguish. "RIZA!"

**A/N:** -settles down in secret cave surround by penguins who are watching the computer screen with interest- Okay, so now I'm in hiding. Don't kill me, but I had been planning a chapter to end like this since the very beginning. Like I said, I'm going to do my best to update as soon as possible. (What can I say, I love cliffhangers.) Anyways, I HAVE been thinking of you guys, so please don't think I've abandoned you or anything. (Even though you all have forced me to now hide in a cave with penguins...-plays with the funny animals-) Please REVIEW! Again, love hearing from you guys. There was something else I wanted to say...but now I'm drawing a blank. Oh well. OH YEAH! There will be FOUR more chapters (if I play my cards right and actually get around to writing them.) so unfortunately, this story will be ending soon. I hope you will become interested in some of my other work. Check out my profile for more details.


	15. The Final Battle RM

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own FMA or any related names and/or titles. However...I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF THE CONQUEROR OF SHAMBALLA! WOOT!

**A/N:** I am so unbelievably sorry for the lack of update. I have been incredibly busy lately and seriously, have only had the time to write this while on the bus or when I'm bored in class. Or even during lunch. I personally, don't like how this came out, but I really hope you guys do. I would hate to disappoint you!

**Chapter 15: The Final Battle. RM.**

I landed hard on the ground beside her. She didn't move as I pulled her close to me, slowly caressing the side of her face.

"Riza?" I whispered, an indescribable feeling washing over me. "Riza, please wake up."

I had always said that I wasn't afraid of anything. I was a fully trained Alchemist who could handle everything. But nothing, _nothing_, had prepared me for this. Losing Riza would be...

_No! Don't even think like that!_

"Riza Hawkeye," I repeated. "Lieutenant, wake up! Don't leave me!"

I pulled her even closer, her head resting by my neck. I wouldn't let her go. The battle engaging behind my back was the last thing on my mind.

Without warning, her chest moved and she coughed. As she gasped for breath, I pulled her from my neck and cradled her in my arms, thanking God she was still alive. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Roy..." her voice croaked.

I was so glad to hear her voice again. A couple tears fell from my eyes, landing on her. I chuckled lightly and wiped them away.

"Don't cry, sir..." she whispered.

"Don't call me that, Riza..." I gripped her hand in mine. I could feel her squeezing it lightly, though her strength was clearly fading.

Bringing me back to reality, I heard Ed cry out from behind me. Riza turned her head as much as she could.

"Ed...ward..." she looked back at me. "Help him."

I nodded, though I didn't want to leave her. Carefully, I lifted her and moved her toward the wall. She leaned up against it, staring at me through bloodshot eyes. Unable to resist, I kissed her. She whimpered lightly as I pulled away.

"I love you..." I told her.

She smiled and closed her eyes. I stood and started toward the fight, unsure of how I was going to do this without hurting Ed.

"Be careful..." she said weakly.

Looking over my shoulder, I nodded. "I will."

Ed was bleeding severely. His face was marked up and his shirt lay aside on the ground, revealing several long gashes along his chest and back. Despite this, he seemed to keep up with her easily.

Without thinking, I snapped my fingers. Ed screamed again, this time joined with another voice. When the smoke cleared, I could see the woman regaining her footing. Ed, however, was having trouble.

"A hell of a time to come in, Mustang!" he barked.

"Shut up, I'm saving your ass!" I yelled back at him. He was going to have to thank me for this later on.

I shot another spurt of flame at the woman, though she doused it with a large amount of water. I stared at her, unsure of what to do next.

"Roy Mustang..." her voice rang out. "It has been years. You're looking vell..."

What was she talking about? I had never seen this woman in my life. Then again, I had seen many women in my time. It was quite possible I had simply forgotten her.

"Vhat?" she asked, noticing the look on my face. "You do not recognize me? But of course, you vere just a Major then. I hear you've been promoted."

"Yes..." I answered, still trying to place the voice.

She moved into the light and I immediately noticed her long red hair. Suddenly, I remembered! It had been nearly a year, maybe two.

I had dated her!

"Now you remember..." she said contentedly.

"Victoria..." I breathed.

She smiled. Some smoke still lingered around her feet, giving her an ethereal appearance. I noticed that her dress was torn as well, damaging many of the intricate designs.

"What happened to you?" I asked. Victoria had always been an ambitious girl, but she was never interested in Alchemy. She had always been trying to convince me to give it up.

"I thought that vould be obvious, Roy..." she said calmly. "I've become an Alchemist, just like you." Her eyes remained unblinking. "I alvays vanted to be like you..."

The accent I once found attractive, now sent chills up my spine. She had been sweet and innocent when we were together. How did she succumb to such a fate?

"Vhen you left me," she said, as if she could read my mind. "I became interested in this Alchemy you vere so fascinated vith. Vhat vas it that made you love that more than you loved me..."

A strange bitterness erupted in the pit of my stomach. I suddenly remembered everything she'd done. All the people she killed.

"I never loved you..." I growled.

She roared with rage and launched herself at me. I moved quickly, snapping. The flames licked the side of her arm, leaving a large red mark.

"I took up Alchemy soon after," she continued. "You were right. It's amazing. It gave me power I couldn't even begin to describe."

More flames burst to the right, causing her to dart in the other direction. Before I could moved, my body became suddenly very cold. It took a moment for me to realize I was completely drenched.

Snapping, nothing happened. A sudden panic came over me. FullMetal was still struggling to get to his feet. I could tell he was in incredible pain.

I was completely helpless. Without my flames, there wasn't much I could do. I decided to play along for as long as I could, rubbing my glove against my leg, desperately trying to dry it off. If I wasn't careful though, I could accidentally set myself on fire.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, trying to buy some time. "How is this going to help you?"

"Vhy? VHY?" Her eyes flashed. "Because I vas tired of who I vas! Alvays being valked all over by dirt bags like you. I thought you truly loved me. You made me believe that you did. But then you met the pretty girl at the bookshop and it vas 'bye-bye' for Victoria!" she seethed. "But I vasn't going to let you go that easily. I vanted revenge."

"So you took up Alchemy?" I wasn't making the connection. What was she trying to prove?

"Yes. You vere alvays obsessed vith power. Sometimes, it vas surprising how you fit your ego through the doorvay. I knew that if I became an Alchemist, an even greater Alchemist than the great Colonel Mustang, it would undo you. You vould fall as hard as I did."

"And that's why you killed all those people?" I kept the questions going. As long as she wasn't attacking me, I'd be fine.

"No..." her voice seemed to calm a bit. "It started out that vay, but it grew. Vonce I knew vhat I could do vith Alchemy, I couldn't get enough of it. The hunger for power grew and took over. I knew that if I possessed the Philosopher's Stone, I vould be all powerful." Her eyes locked on to mine. "You must be familiar vith that feeling. The longing for something so bad that you vould kill for it."

My stomach gave an uncontrollable jerk. How did she know this much about me? I never brought up work if I could avoid it. Had she been stalking me?

Out of nowhere, something metal flew by me, straight at Victoria. She cried out in shock, but retaliated quickly.

"FullMetal! What the Hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled.

Ed caught the side of Victoria's arm, but she threw him backward, a new gash appearing across his right shoulder. The strange thing was that once it began to bleed, the blood vanished. In fact, all of his wounds had become bloodless. I stared as Ed crashed to the floor, not returning to his feet this time.

Victoria straightened herself out, continuing her story. "However, there vere problems. There couldn't be others that possessed the Stone, could there? My power vould be pointless. I decided that I must obtain all the Alchemical power that I could by killing the Alchemists and others tied to the Stone. I've nearly succeeded. The runt is almost finished, and then there's you..."

What was she talking about? Could she absorb an Alchemist's power once they were dead? It seemed that the more she talked, the more confused I was getting.

"Haff you discovered vhat kind of person I am yet, Roy?" she asked in an almost sing-song tone.

Slowly, everything started to make sense. All the evidence we had gathered had proved to be important after all.

"You're a Blood Alchemist..." I said quietly.

"Precisely..." Victoria grinned evilly. "I practically live on the stuff. Vhy do you think all the dead scientists vere bloodless?"

"I did find that strange..." I said, sounding like an idiot. I didn't mind though. The more distracted she got, the more of a surprise my attack would be. "What do you plan to do with all of it?"

She laughed and the sound echoes off the walls. "I thought _that_ vould haff been most obvious. You haff heard of a taboo, haffn't you?"

That jolt in my stomach was back. My voice was failing me. I merely nodded.

"It vill be enough to bring them all back," she said. "Then, they vill all vork for me. They vill study and discover for me only. And you..." she paused dramatically. "You vill finally be mine."

"Never!" I cried, finding my voice. I pulled my hand back up and snapped, hoping it wasn't going to fail again.

Victoria's feet caught on fire and she screamed with pain, quickly dousing them with water. I noticed the transmutation circle to the left of her waist. She touched it every time the water appeared. This time, I took careful aim.

"You bastard!" she screamed as the fabric caught fire. Not bothering to put it out, she came toward me, furious.

We fought for what seemed like ages. There were very few circles left on her dress, so her attacks repeated. Much of her body was now covered with red burns. She was beginning to pant, but she wasn't the only one. It felt like the life was being drained out of me.

Suddenly, she stopped, looking at something over my shoulder. A smile crept across her lips and her eyes glittered.

I turned slowly to see a man standing in the doorway. The scars on his face were quite familiar, but in the darkness, I couldn't see him well.

"Nice to see you again, Flame Alchemist..."

_The man from the bar..._

I was outnumbered and growing tired. He charged toward me, striking me against the head. I fell backward, landing hard on the ground. They were laughing at me.

I felt something drip and realized my nose was bleeding. Victoria noticed and stared at me hungrily. I regained my ground and shot sparks at both of them.

I tried to keep track of both of them, but everything in the room had become a blur of dark colors. I couldn't even see Riza against the wall anymore.

Victoria fell onto the ground and watched through blackened eyes. The scarred man and I were locked in a standoff. I could tell he was hurt as well. His hands were red and his bottom lip was bleeding. He hadn't used Alchemy once. I was starting to wonder if he possessed any power.

"Kill him!" Victoria shouted.

BANG!

My eyes shut in reaction. There was no pain, no feeling of lead moving through my body, no searing heat. I didn't feel myself collapse to the floor, nor did I feel the blood flow freely from the wound. Something wasn't right.

Opening my eyes, I saw the scarred man slump over on the floor. A stream of blood made it way across the stone. I heard a weak voice speak from behind me.

"As you wish..."

I turned to see Riza on her knees. She grasped her gun firmly with both of her hands. They shook furiously, and finally dropped the gun. With a shuddering gasp, she fell forward.

I ran toward her again, certain that this time I could help her. I could hear a commotion from below. Someone had entered the building.

Before I could reach her, I fell forward and landed on my face. I could hear Victoria laugh triumphantly.

"Damn..." I cursed. What was it with people tripping me? It wasn't _that_ funny.

"Roy, Roy, Roy..." she must have obtained enough strength to stand, because I could hear her footsteps click loudly. "I never vanted to see you like this. Vinning you over should haff been so easy. You'd haff power, Roy Mustang. Isn't that vhat you've alvays vanted? Power? Ve could rule together..."

"I thought I said 'Never'," I spat.

I turned to looka t her. She was standing over me, menacingly. The mad glint in her eye had returned. Her hand rested on a circle near her hip.

"If that is the vay you vant it," she said. "That's how it vill be..."

Nothing happened. I raised an eyebrow and she removed her hand. Once again, she replaced it and tried to perform Alchemy. Still nothing. Frantically, she touched the remaining circles. They all appeared to be damaged.

Using whatever strength I had left, I got to my feet. Victoria noticed and started to back off as I moved toward her.

"It appears the tables have turned..." I said quietly.

"Roy..." she chuckled nervously. "Think about this. Think about vhat I'm offering you. Ve could haff everything you've ever vanted..."

I grinned, "I _have_ everything I've ever wanted..."

She cringed as I snapped my fingers. She screamed loudly, but it cut off sharply as she realized that she was not on fire. Surrounding her was a ring of flames, preventing her from moving.

It had drained the last bit of energy out of me and I felt my knees starting to give out from under me. I wasn't going to be able to stand for much longer.

"Vhy...Vhy didn't you kill me?" she asked.

My vision faded in and out of focus. Victoria had become a mere blob of black and red. "I'm not like you..."

There was a loud noise and several people were now storming up the stairs. I glanced at Ed and over at Riza, lifeless on the ground.

They couldn't be dead...

_Please don't be dead..._

I tried to move away from the flames, but it felt as if I were walking through molasses. I saw bodies moving through the destroyed doorway.

"Roy!" I heard Maes' voice, though it was incredibly far off.

"Colonel Mustang!" another voice rang out. "_COLONEL MUSTANG!_"

As the officers entered the room, charging toward Victoria and the bodies of my comrades lying on the ground, I fell forward, blacking out.

**A/N:** So, uhm, there it is. There will be...ehhh...three more chapters, but the action's all pretty much over. (Now it's time for me to move back to the romance...Royai...stuff. And...yeah more Ed. Lol.) I know, I think it's a sucky ending but I thought it would be kinda ironic to have it end up being an ex-girlfriend of Roy's. Please review! And I will update as soon as I can! Thank you all so much for being patient.


	16. Fraternization G

**DISCLAIMER:** Man, 15 chapters later and I still don't own FMA. I've gotta keep working on this...

**A/N:** Hey there. Sorry for the lack of update, but I'm working on it. This story is almost over I'm afraid, but I thank all of you who have kept up with it. To you, I am eternally grateful. Thank you so much.

**Chapter 16: Fraternization. G.**

"Colonel Mustang!"

Roy stood in the middle of the hall. He had been trying to worm his way into Riza's room. They hadn't allowed him in to see her and he was growing impatient.

The doctor moved toward him as he stopped suddenly. Roy turned to see the man who'd said his name.

"Sir, are you busy at the moment?" the doctor asked.

Roy glanced back down the hall, biting his lip. "Actually, I-"

"Major Elric would like to speak to you..." the doctor interrupted.

Roy stared at him. He didn't know that Ed was even conscious. Last he'd known, both Ed and Riza showed no signs of waking.

"Is he all right?" Roy asked.

"He's recovering," the doctor replied. "He's still very weak from the massive amount of blood loss, but he should be up on his feet in a matter of days."

Roy nodded and started in the direction of Ed's room. He couldn't imagine what Ed would have to say to him, or why it couldn't wait until a later time.

He opened the door and stepped inside. Ed was lying in bed, looking terribly beat up. His automail arm hung limply at his side. It was clear that he had broken it again.

"Yes, Fullmetal?" Roy asked, looking at the pathetic form in front of him.

Ed opened his eyes in an almost menacing glare. "Colonel..."

The angry stare faded into a deep sigh. Ed's focus locked onto the blanket covering his legs. It was going to be difficult to say what he needed to say.

"I'm sorry..." he muttered.

Roy looked taken aback. Whatever he had been expecting, what he got was nowhere near it. Ed waited for Roy to grin smugly. He didn't.

"For what?" he asked calmly.

"You were right," Ed told him reluctantly. "I can't stop everything I come up against. You told me that flat out and I didn't listen to you. All this is my fault. I'm sorry."

Roy stared at him. Ed waited for him to say something.

"So...laugh..." Ed said.

Roy shook his head. "I'm not going to. I didn't want to be right, Fullmetal, you know that."

"Yeah right," Ed scoffed.

"No. Honestly!" Roy stepped closer to the bed. "I mean it. If you can have the courage to apologize to me, I can admit this. None of this was your fault. It was mine. None of this would have happened if it weren't for _my _careless mistakes."

Ed's eyes narrowed. Something had happened to the Colonel while he was unconscious. He didn't seem like the same person anymore.

"Is First Lieutenant Hawkeye all right?" Ed asked, changing the subject.

Roy's face fell. A strange sadness crept into his eyes. Ed noticed and feared the worst.

"Is she-"

"I don't know..." Roy said abruptly. "They won't tell me anything."

Ed frowned. "Is she talking? I mean, has she said anything?"

Roy shook his head. His voice was failing him. He had asked the doctor's on several occasions if she was awake, but none of them would give him any answers, no matter how much he ordered them to. They were ordered from higher power to keep everything under wraps.

Ed understood and decided not to say anything more about it. "And Al? Is he-"

Roy was glad they'd moved on. "Al is fine. He will need very little repair once..." he eyed Ed's arm. "Once your arm is fixed."

Ed seemed to have forgotten about his arm. He glanced down at it. With his good hand, he lifted it and dropped it onto his lap.

"Will it be an easy fix?" Roy asked, not really sure how bad the damage was. He didn't know much when it came to automail. "Or will it need to be replaced entirely?"

Ed tried to flex his fingers, but they wouldn't move. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and he stopped abruptly, cringing.

"I'm not sure. It might have to be replaced, but it could just need tweaking. Winry'll have to..." he froze and chuckled, holding his normal hand to his head. "Winry...oh, she's gonna kill me..."

"You're darn right I am!" A female voice came from the doorway.

Neither of the boys had heard her enter, but Winry stood there beside Roy, glaring at Ed. Ed braced himself for a blow to the head, hoping she hadn't brought a wrench with her.

Instead, Winry threw herself at him, disregarding the look of pain that dawned across his face at her doing so.

"Winry!" Ed gasped.

"What were you thinking?" she cried. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Winry still refused to let him go. Roy couldn't help but smile as Ed turned bright red. Deciding that he was no longer welcome, he left them alone.

Back in the hall, he heard someone call out his name.

"Roy!"

An arm slung around his neck, dragging him down the hall. He turned slightly to see Hughes standing next to him, grinning broadly.

"I reckon you won't be dating much anymore, eh?" he asked jokingly. "Not after that one..."

Roy smiled grimly. "I've sworn off women like her, that's for sure." he paused. "Actually, I don't know how much dating I'll be doing from now on..."

Hughes raised an eyebrow. "Riza?"

Roy nodded and Hughes smiled, laughing wholeheartedly.

"Finally! Jeez! Took you guys long enough!"

Roy didn't say anything. He sighed deeply and the two of them continued walking down the hall. They passed the open window where several nurses gasped as they walked by.

"Hi Colonel!"

"Colonel!"

"Over here! Hello Colonel!"

"You look great today, Colonel!"

Roy didn't even glance at the women, who all whined loudly. Hughes looked back at them, where they were waiting patiently for Roy to return. Glancing back at Roy, Hughes could tell something was wrong. He had never seen Roy pass by them without even acknowledging their existence.

"Roy?" he said slowly.

Roy didn't answer.

"Roy? What's going on?" he asked seriously. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Roy said softly. "I just...I want to-"

He spotted a doctor ahead of them. It was a different one than the one he'd spoken with earlier. He had seen this one go into Riza's room before. Picking up his pace, Roy easily caught up with him, leaving Hughes to trail behind.

"Colonel!" the doctor said, turning to see Roy standing before him. "How are you doing, sir? Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you for asking," he said hastily. "I have to ask you. Have the conditions of Lieutenant Hawkeye improved?"

The doctor's eyes narrowed sternly. He had told Roy on several occasions that he was not allowed to divulge that information. He reminded Roy of this.

"I know," Roy said, growing irritated. "I just want to know if she's improving at all. Can't you at least tell me that much?"

The doctor paused for a moment, thinking it over. Finally, he nodded and looked down at the papers in his hands.

"Everything seems to be turning out well," the doctor told him. "However, she has not come 'round yet. She is still in a very deep state of unconsciousness."

"Do you know when she should?" Roy asked.

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid it's impossible to tell. Even if I did know, I would not be able to tell you. Now, I must be off. Good day to you, sir."

With that, the doctor turned on his heel and hurried off in the other direction. Roy scowled at him and turned back to Hughes, who was still looking concerned. Roy took a few deep breaths, finally leaning against the wall.

"Don't worry, Roy..." Hughes said. "Everything will be all right."

Roy nodded, only hoping that Hughes was right. They started down the other direction, when yet another voice cried out. This one much younger.

"Mistah Hughes!"

Hughes had only turned a bit when he felt little arms wrap around his legs. He laughed when he looked down at the young girl in front of him.

"Sophie!" he said, smiling.

"You 'membahed me!" she said cheerfully.

"Of course I did," Hughes told her. "How could I forget?"

He lifted her into his arms and she hugged him tightly. Roy noticed the man standing at the other end of the hallway. He was walking toward them slightly, laughing at the actions of the little girl.

"Forgive me," he said. "She got away from me."

"Don't worry about it," Hughes said as Sophie grabbed his glasses and placed them over her own eyes.

"Colonel Mustang," the man said, nodding in Roy's direction. "It's good to see you again, sir."

"Mr. Villa," Roy said to him. "I hope you're well."

"I am now," he said. "Thanks to you."

Roy looked confused. "What do you mean?"

He smiled weakly. "All I needed was a conclusion. I know that my wife's murdered has been caught. No one else will have to suffer at her hands. You caught her, therefore, I hold you entirely responsible. I'm not sure I could ever thoroughly thank you for all you've done."

Roy shook his head. "No, I really don't deserv-"

"No, I insist," Mr. Villa said. "If there's anything I can do, I-"

"No," Roy said decisively. "Don't worry about it."

Mr. Villa looked at his daughter and Hughes. "Well, we'd better be going. I just wanted to stop by and thank you. Sophie wanted to see Mr. Hughes again." Sophie looked up at him at the mention of her name. "Say thank you to Mr. Mustang and Mr. Hughes."

"Thank you, Mistah Hughes," she said, hugging him again. Taking back his glasses, he placed Sophie back on the ground. She turned to Roy and clung to his leg tightly. He jumped at the touch, but smiled at her. "Thank you, Mistah Mustang!"

"You're welcome, kiddo..." he said softly.

They watched as Mr. Villa scooped Sophie back up into his arms and walked away. Hughes clapped his hand on Roy's shoulder.

"One day, Roy...one day..." he said. "You'll have kids too."

Roy laughed and shook his head. "I don't even want to think about that now. I'm too young."

Hughes laughed. "You're 29!"

"So?" Roy shot back at him.

"Hey there chief!" Lieutenant Havoc appeared at one of the doorways. "You certainly look a right sight better than you did before when we found you in that warehouse..."

Roy laughed bitterly. "Thank you, Havoc..."

"No problem," Havoc said, smirking. "Hey, rumor has it someone might be looking at a promotion..."

Roy's eyes grew wide. Hughes nodded. Roy didn't say anything, but he certainly hoped that Havoc was right. A promotion would be nice at a time like this, though he probably didn't deserve it.

Several other officers appeared in the doorway of the large staffroom. They were talking about the events that had gone on and the affects it would have on their future. Many of them were also talking about the rumored promotion of Roy Mustang.

"Are you excited, sir?" Sergeant Brosh asked, as Roy walked over toward them. Al was standing next to Lieutenant Ross and looked interested as well.

"Being transferred to Central," Lieutenant Ross said. "Of course he's excited."

"It's what you've always dreamed about, right chief?" Havoc interrupted. "Of course, it won't be as fun. We won't be around anymore."

"Ha," Roy laughed. "That's what I'm looking forward to."

Havoc knew Roy was joking. Roy would be completely lost without his subordinates. They were the only comic relief he had around the office. If he was promoted, he wouldn't be able to bring them along with him, would he?

And Riza...

Riza would have to stay behind too. Unless he made an arrangement with the Führer, but even then, it couldn't be certain she would be able to come with him.

"Starting to second guess yourself, Colonel?" Lieutenant Ross asked, noticing the look on Roy's face.

Before Roy could answer, Hughes had turned to look at something at the end of the hall.

"Roy..."

Roy turned slightly and froze. His heart began to pound as he noticed what Hughes was staring at. A doctor stood outside a door, holding it open.

Riza stood at the end of the hall, partially dressed in her uniform and looking a lot stronger then she felt. When she spotted Roy, a large weak smile spread across her face.

Slowly, she started toward him, gaining in speed as she got closer until she was nearly running. Feeling as if she were taking too much time, Roy ran toward her, taking her into his arms.

Riza's arms snaked around his neck as she pressed her lips to his. Roy was stunned at first by her forwardness, but relaxed and pulled her closer to him, kissing her deeply. The surrounding officers whistled and cheered loudly.

Riza pulled away, growing red. Roy chuckled lightly.

"I was so worried about you..." he muttered. "I-I thought you were-"

"Shh..." she said, pressing her fingers to his lips. "Don't worry. I would never leave you like this."

She kissed him again, but pulled away hastily, placing her cheek against his. He breathed in the sweet smell of her.

"I love you, Roy..." she whispered into his ear.

Roy thought his heart would soar. He had told her that he loved her already, but he had never heard her say it back. He had been waiting for her to say those words for many years.

Winry and Ed appeared in the doorway of Ed's room as the couple kissed each other a final time. Ed laughed to himself, though on the outside appeared disgusted at their public affection. Winry clapped her hands together, choking back tears of joy.

"Yes!" Hughes said, smiling triumphantly.

Riza's hands ran through Roy's hair as he rubbed the back of her neck. He tugged at her bottom lip gently, begging for further access to her mouth. She gave in, feeling his tongue slip past her lips. Part of her was embarrassed to be kissing him so passionately in front of all the others, but the other part didn't seem to notice them at all.

Though no one noticed, while watching them, Denny Brosh carefully took Maria Ross' hand in his. She blushed lightly at his touch, but didn't pull her hand away.

No one knew what was going to become of the pair, for fraternization among coworkers was frowned upon. It was most likely that Riza would be moved to another office, but Roy wouldn't hear of it.

She was his Lieutenant, his love, his life, and he wouldn't have it any other way...

For the rest of his life.

**A/N:** Okay, so I lied last chapter. There will only be one more chapter after this. I found it fitting to start the story in Riza's POV and end it in Riza's. Actually...it should end in Roy's, but there's no way I'm getting three more chapters outta this. The next chapter will probably be really short. I know there isn't too much Royai action, but I guess it doesn't fit as well as I hoped. There will be a little in the next chapter, but nothing real extreme. I'm gonna leave that for my other story, Midnight Conversations, (which is rated M, so I can pretty much do whatever I want with it. Muahaha. Lol. No, I'm only joking.) But yeah, so please Review! And check out my other works if you're interested. Once I'm done with this, I have another idea for another Royai story (yeah, that'll prolly be the only kind of FMA story I write.) which will be more Royai-ish than this one. So, keep an eye out! Thanks again!

Yours Fondly,

M.C.E.Black


	17. I'll Cover You RH

**DISCLAIMER:** Man, I'm terrible at this. I've gone through an entire fanfiction and I still don't own FMA. Maybe I should write to Hiromu Arakawa or something...I dunno.

**A/N:** Okay, so here it is. The 17th and final chapter of CrossFire. It is not very long at all, but I couldn't think of much else to write at this point since the story is pretty much over. I thank all of you who have stayed interested during the entire writing process and I hope you will take interest in some of my other work.

**Chapter 17: I'll Cover You. RH.**

I sat silently in the soft chair behind Roy's desk. My eyes scanned the words of the book in front of me, occasionally glancing in the direction of the door. He was gone again, but this time I didn't mind if he came in to find me at his desk. I actually anticipated it.

"_When the war concluded..."_

Wars and such could only keep my attention for so long. I dropped the book onto the desk and sighed, looking around for something else to do. The unsettled feeling had returned to my stomach and I was trying hard to ignore it.

A few reports sat on the edge of the desk and I reached out for them. The top one was the one about Victoria and the mass murders attached to her. I flipped through the pages in the file.

She was going to be locked away for a very long time. I was surprised that they didn't kill her, but unfortunately, many of the military's scientists were interested in studying her and her Alchemical powers. All of the circles had been removed from her body, meaning that she couldn't do Alchemy at will anymore. I was very thankful for this.

At the thought of Victoria, I shuddered. A strange chill was sent up my spine and I could almost feel her probing hands wandering the lines drawn on my back. I had been lucky that she hadn't gotten the chance to get a good look at the tattoo. It wouldn't have been entirely useful, but she may have been able to make something out of it.

The door opened suddenly and I looked up, placing the folder back on the desk. I smiled lightly as Roy leaned against the door, watching me.

"Trying to steal my position, Lieutenant?" he asked, not moving.

I smirked at him and turned playfully in the chair. "I don't know. Colonel Hawkeye has a nice sound to it, doesn't it?"

He stepped forward, approaching the desk. His eyes never left mine. "Colonel Hawkeye, eh? I sorta like it..."

I leaned my elbows on the desk and stared up at him. He stared back at me, a strange glint in his eye. Laughing, I gave up his chair and moved away.

"Welcome back, sir..." I said. "How did it go? What did they decide?"

He frowned slightly as he moved toward his now vacant chair. "It took them forever to come to a decision. 'We must look at what's best for the team' blah blah blah 'may become a distraction' blah blah 'conflict of interests"..." He sank down in his chair with a heavy sigh.

I couldn't believe it. They were going to move me to another area. For a while, I almost believed they'd let me stay.

How stupid could I be?

"Then they talked a little more, making me leave," he continued. "Then I went back in..." he sighed again, shaking his head.

I sat on the edge of his desk, peering down at him. He turned slowly in his chair. My foot brushed against his leg with each turn.

"It's going to be hard..." he said quietly.

He sounded so sad. I just wanted to hold him. Remembering that I could do so no, I moved onto his lap, wrapping my arms around him. His arms slid around my waist, pulling me closer to him. My head rested by his.

"It's going to be distracting with you in the same room. My work will never get done," he whispered into my ear.

It took a moment for this to click. Suddenly, I jumped away from him, glaring.

"You jerk!" I yelled. "You had me thinking that they were-"

He laughed. "That was the whole point..."

"You mean, I can stay?" I asked, trying to suppress my excitement.

He smirked. "Did I stutter?"

My heart soared, but I didn't want him to know that, at least not yet. He wasn't going to get away with tricking me so easily. Instead, I looked at him angrily.

"Damn, I don't think I want to stay anymore," I said matter-of-factly.

He looked offended. "After all that?"

I walked away from his desk. "Yeah. I'm not sure I'll be able to share an office with you anymore. You've become quite a problem."

He rose out of his chair, moving toward me. "Is that so?"

I glanced at him over my shoulder and nodded. "Yes."

"Hmmm..." I heard him say. "That's funny. Last I know, you said you loved me..."

"I don't remember this," I said teasingly, turning back to him. "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

"Really?" Roy raised his eyebrows. His hand found the handle to one of his drawers. "Maybe I'm wrong..."

He pulled a small brown book from the drawer and shut it slowly. Carefully, he started to flip through the pages, searching for something.

"'Why can't he look at me like he does those Nurses? I wish that just for once he'd look at me as something other than his subordinate'..." he turned another page. "'Why do I still care about him? He keeps looking at me. His eyes are so beautiful'..."

Realizing what he was reading, I shot after him. "Give me that!"

He raced around his desk, still reading from the journal. "'I love him so much' little heart, little heart, little heart..." he laughed. "Aw, Roy and Riza forever. How cute!"

"Roy Mustang!" I screamed, reaching around his waist for the book. I tugged at the cover. He pulled back, grabbing my arm and bringing me in front of him. A strange look had penetrated his eyes.

We fought over the journal around the entire office. We screamed, we tickled and we even tripped each other. I was certain that someone on the floor below would think that a bunch of children had just stormed Colonel Mustang's office.

"I can't believe you!" I hissed. "How did you get this?"

Roy began to push me backward. Finally, he smiled and let go. I tumbled backward, landing on an armchair. A moment later, I felt his body press up against mine, preventing me from moving.

For a minute, we stared at each other. His hand brushed along the side of my face. I blinked slowly, feeling my journal slip from my hands. Roy dropped it to the floor. Bringing his lips dangerously close to mine, he whispered.

"I win..."

"Screw you..." I muttered back to him, my eyes closing.

"You wish..." I heard him mumble before covering my mouth with his own.

My hands caressed his chest, wandering up to his shoulder and falling down his back. One of his arms was locked behind my neck and the other rested peacefully on my breast. It was an awkward position, for the chair wasn't very large.

Neither of us noticed when the door opened behind us. Nor did we notice when someone gasped, however, the sound of Hughes' voice broke us apart.

"Well, well, well..." he said loudly. "Perhaps we _should_ get the Lieutenant her own office. Nothing will ever get done in here..." he paused and smiled devilishly. "Well, actually..."

Roy gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in annoyance. "Hughes, what did I say about knocking?"

"Yeah, I'm working on that," he said simply.

Roy pulled himself away from me and straightened out. I was still trying to get to my feet, finding my body refusing to move. I had gone strangely limp and my heart was still racing a mile a minute from the long kiss we had just shared.

"What are you doing here?" Roy asked bluntly.

Hughes stared at him and a look of realization dawned on him. "Oh yeah, that..." he cleared his throat. "There's been a Scar sighting and the Führer wants the two of you out there immediately."

Roy nodded shortly and waited for Hughes to leave. He didn't seem to be getting the hint, for he continued to look back and forth between the two of us.

"So," he started slowly. "When can I be expecting a wedding invitation?"

"Oh, get out of here!" Roy told him, shooing Hughes toward the door. I felt myself turn bright red. I had only fantasized about marrying Roy. Now, that fantasy could very well become a reality.

He turned back to me and sighed once the door was shut and Hughes was gone. I had finally found the strength to stand and was watching him, waiting for my next order.

"I suppose we should go after that Scar thing..." he said quietly.

I nodded. "I suppose..."

He nodded as well and looked around uncomfortably. He turned toward the door, but paused and looked back at me, his dark eyes burning deeply with a look I'd never seen him wear before. I was strangely attracted and comforted by it.

"Will you cover me, Lieutenant?" he asked, sounding very serious.

My hand rested on the gun in my holster. My eyes did not tear from his for even a second. A moment of silence passed before I answered, the same look now donning my own eyes, I was sure.

"Always..."

**THE END**

**A/N:** There it is. Those two final words. Again, I thank all my readers and reviewers for their love and support. I hope you'll read some of my other stuff, because it's a bunch of more Royai and I know you all love it oh so much. Thanks again, so much! I love all of you!

Yours Fondly Forever,

M.C.E.Black


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